PREVIEW

A human has successfully received a titanium heart for the first time in medical history. The transformative technology provides a bridge-to-heart-transplant solution for patients with severe conditions until a donor heart becomes available. The titanium heart uses magnetic levitation, or maglev, technology, similar to that used in high-speed trains. The Texas Heart Institute (THI) and BiVACOR, a clinical-stage medical device company, announced the first-in-human implantation of the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) on Thursday, July 25 2024. On July 9, the THI implanted the TAH into a critically ill 57-year-old man who was in cardiogenic shock and awaiting a heart transplant. The nearly six-hour operation allowed the patient to be liberated from the ventilator on post-operative day three and sit in a chair the same day. On post-op day seven, he was able to walk 150 meters. On July 17, eight days after the implant, a donor heart became available. With activity, the device is auto-regulated to provide up to 12 litres of blood flow per minute, which is similar to that pumped by a healthy human heart. Following this first implantation completed at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center, four additional patients are set to be enrolled in the study.