New Drive Unit Makes Artificial Heart More Practical
Diagnostic & Invasive Cardiology
June 21, 2010
By: Keyur B. Shah, M.D.; Daniel P. Tang, M.D.; Michael Hess, M.D; and Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va., Advanced Heart Failure and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program
The practicality and expense of maintaining patients on total artificial hearts (TAH) may be significantly impacted with the introduction of a new, investigational portable driver unit. The 13-pound unit driver is intended to replace the previous 418-pound driver, which will allow eligible patients to be discharged to wait for a transplant heart at home, rather than in a hospital.
The Challenge
The rapidly increasing burden of patients with advanced heart failure has fueled the growing field of mechanical circulatory support. After remarkable progress over the last several decades... read more