The artificial heart. Progress and promise
W. S. Pierce, J. A. Brighton, J. H. Donachy, D. L. Landis, G. Rosenberg, G. A. Prophet, W. J. White and J. A. Waldhausen
A multidisciplinary group has designed, fabricated, and evaluated an
artificial heart. The heart consists of two smooth-surfaced sac-type pumps,
two pneumatic power units, and an electronic control system. The artificial
heart has been employed in 22 calves. A variety of problems have been
encountered and overcome and a significant improvement in pump design has
been made. As a result, a gradual increase in survival times has occurred.
The last two calves in which the heart was tested lived for 60 and 42 days
respectively. These animals ate well and gained weight. The ability of the
control system to balance the output of the two pumps over long periods of
time and to automatically increase cardiac output with treadmill exercise
has been confirmed. No insurmountable problems in the development of the
artificial heart have been identified. The date that an artificial heart
will be available for clinical use depends on the availability of funds and
on the tenacity of the investigators.
