Portable Artificial Heart Driver Helps Live a Normal Life

A new study shows that patients with biventricular failure who receive a portable device to power their artificial heart are able to return home to await a successful human heart transplant.

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, USA) reported the outcomes of 13 pulsatile total artificial heart (TAH) patients who were stable when attached to a large, heavy pneumatic driver (the CSS console) in the hospital, and who were transitioned to the Freedom portable electromechanical driver (EMD) and allowed to go home. The study endpoints were a cardiac index on EMD averaging more than 2.2 L/min/m2 throughout 90 days, and clinical outcomes.


The results showed that in the 13 patients (11 males), the mean cardiac index was 3.0 L/min/m2 for patients on the EMD, for an average of 116 days. All patients met the overall prespecified success of maintenance on EMD for 90 days. Adverse events were similar in both groups, although there were more mechanical problems in the group that was sent home on EMD, including kinking of a drive line while a patient was getting into a car and the failure of the primary motor. In all cases of mechanical problems, back-up systems kicked in without harmful effects to the patients. The study was presented at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons annual meeting, held during January 2013 in Los Angeles (CA, USA).

“Using a portable electromechanical driver, total-artificial-heart patients are increasingly mobile, enabling discharge from the hospital with successful bridge to transplantation while residing in a home environment,” said lead author Vigneshwar Kasirajan, MD. “This is the first report of a cohort of patients in the United States with a total artificial heart powered by a small driver that can be discharged from the hospital.”

Similar to a heart transplant, the TAH replaces both heart ventricles, eliminating the symptoms and source of end-stage biventricular failure. The immediate, high volume of safe blood flow provided by the TAH helps vital organs recover faster, making the patient a better transplant candidate. The TAH and the Freedom portable EMD are products of SynCardia Systems (Tucson, AZ, USA).

Related Links:
Virginia Commonwealth University
SynCardia Systems