 The FDA has just approved a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) for the AbioCor replacement heart system. The AbioCor is the first FDA approved completely self-contained artificial organ and may be the most sophisticated medical device ever designed.
With not enough natural hearts available for transplant, this new medical breakthrough is offering hope to people who suffer from heart failure. The AbioCor’s bio-compatible pump is able to mimic the function of a human heart. Just as remarkable, it allows the blood to circulate through it and not get rejected. The mechanism gives the body a pulse and propels blood throughout the body in a fashion that is identical to the human body.
The AbioCor is made of titanium and advanced forms of medical polymers. It contains two blood pumping chambers separated by an active self-contained artificial septum which converts electricity into fluid motion by means of a miniaturized rotary pump driven by an electric motor.
Each year, roughly 2,200 donor hearts are transplanted into patients suffering from heart failure. There are many more patients awaiting this second chance at life, for which a heart transplant is not an option. Patients with illnesses such as multi organ failure or cancer are, in most circumstances, kept off the heart transplant list. Doctors see this innovation not just a product that is going to keep these patients alive but as something that will also afford them a quality of life outside the hospital. For more information on the AbioCor visit http://www.abiomed.com/.
Courtesy: MediaLink
|
