Skip to main content

This artificial heart could help keep people on transplant waiting lists alive

Carmat TAH 3D video - Presentation

A French company called Carmat has created an artificial heart that could potentially help save the lives of people with end-stage biventricular heart failure. And, no, this isn’t some piece of future tech that won’t be available for another decade or so; it has already been used on actual patients — including one who  had the implanted heart two years ago. And it’s coming to the United States.

Recommended Videos

“The idea behind this heart, which was born nearly 30 years ago, was to create a device which would replace heart transplants, a device that works physiologically like a human heart, one that’s pulsating, self-regulated, and compatible with blood,” Carmat CEO Stéphane Piat recently told Reuters.

The artificial heart, which weighs about three times what the average human heart weighs, boasts two ventricles — one for blood, the other for hydraulic fluid — separated by a membrane. Hydraulic fluid is moved in and out using a motorized pump, which moves the membrane so that the blood can flow. In-built electronics, sensors, and microprocessors can autonomously regulate the blood flow in response to the activity of the patient, who must carry a bag of actuator fluid, a lithium-ion battery, and a controller.

Heart
Carmat

“Carmat aims to meet a major public health challenge related to cardiovascular diseases, namely heart failure, the leading cause of death in the world,” the company notes on its website. “More specifically, Carmat aims to provide a lasting solution to the treatment of terminal heart failure, a disease for which there are very few effective options today, the main one being heart transplants.”

The artificial heart has reportedly received the necessary CE marking in Europe to show that it is in line with health and safety standards. It received this approval last year, and will launch in both Germany and France in the second quarter of 2021. According to SingularityHub, Carmat has also received U.S. Food and Drug Administration permission for an early feasibility study in the United States. That will take place this year as well.

With thousands of biventricular heart failure patients currently on transplant waiting lists around the world, this could be a massive game changer that helps solve a major real-world problem.

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Ford ships new NACS adapters to EV customers
Ford EVs at a Tesla Supercharger station.

Thanks to a Tesla-provided adapter, owners of Ford electric vehicles were among the first non-Tesla drivers to get access to the SuperCharger network in the U.S.

Yet, amid slowing supply from Tesla, Ford is now turning to Lectron, an EV accessories supplier, to provide these North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters, according to InsideEVs.

Read more
Agatha All Along creator wrote multiple post-credits scenes for the Marvel series that weren’t used
Kathryn Hahn stands next to Joe Locke in Agatha All Along.

Agatha All Along is one of the most widely liked titles that Marvel Studios has released in, well, a while. The WandaVision spinoff premiered in late September and did a lot to win over even some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's more skeptical fans across its nine episodes. While Agatha All Along does set up some exciting future possibilities for several of its characters, though, its finale doesn't include a single post-credits scene.

According to Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer, that isn't because she didn't have any ideas for one. When asked about the series' lack of a post-credits tag, Schaeffer told Variety, "That’s a Marvel decision. I know nothing more than that." The writer and showrunner went on to reveal that she actually wrote multiple potential post-credits scenes for Agatha All Along, none of which were ultimately used because of behind-the-scenes decision-making by Marvel.

Read more
Yamaha offers sales of 60% on e-bikes as it pulls out of U.S. market
Yamaha Pedal Assist ebikes

If you were looking for clues that the post-pandemic e-bike market reshuffle remains in full swing in the U.S., look no further than the latest move by Yamaha.

In a letter to its dealers, the giant Japanese conglomerate announced it will pull out of the e-bike business in the U.S. by the end of the year, according to Electrek.

Read more