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Creating Artificial Heart Research

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This paper will present to you the current developments in the area of creating artificial hearts. Artificial hearts are synthetically made devices designed to replace flesh and blood hearts when they no longer work to their full capacity. Researchers have created many artificial hearts that are suitable for assisting the heart when half of the heart is no longer functioning well, but they have not yet created an artificial heart that can function in place of a heart for a person’s entire life. This topic is interesting and gives scientists a better understanding of how our heart functions and how to replicate those functions to prolong people’s lives. This paper will present the research in a chronological order of discoveries. Human hearts …show more content…

However, in the early 1980s, Richard Wampler had the idea to create an artificial heart with a design based off the Archimedean screw. The heart would pump blood continually through it, creating a pulse-less heart. Wampler used this theory in the creation of the Hemopump, and it succeeded. Patients were able to use the heart effectively as long as they wore a medical alert bracelet in case of an emergency. This axial-flow pump design has the potential to last longer, function better, and fit better into patients (MacRae, …show more content…

It was a failure, however scientists have discovered since then that pig hearts are relatively effective for heart transplantation (Maher, 2013). The first electronically powered artificial heart was transplanted into a human in 1991. Electronically powered hearts are powered by a battery pack inside the heart. They are easier to manage, make no noise and are usually rechargeable through the skin. Since then, most artificial hearts have become electronically powered. In the early 1900s, researchers, finding they had created multiple artificial hearts that functioned correctly, focused their attention on creating a smaller, but just as powerful artificial heart for children and small adults. DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device is one of those. The device was created out of a collaboration of DeBakey and NASA, and is a tenth the size of most artificial hearts. It only requires 8 watts of power to function, and it can be recharged through the skin. This artificial heart was rather successful, and most likely saved many lives (“Artificial Heart Invention”,

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