ANKARA (AA) - China’s indigenous “artificial heart” saved two from advanced heart failure, setting a new record as patients survived over 100 days, state-run China Daily reported on Monday.
The auxiliary heart device was used in March by the doctors at the TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital in Tianjin, northeast China.
A 39-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman, who were diagnosed with advanced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) -- a cardiovascular condition that enlarges the heart which then cannot pump blood effectively -- survived longer than any who had undergone the operation before. HeartCon, a cardiovascular assisting device was developed and patented by China exclusively, is claimed to be the first entirely indigenous such device in the country, it was reported.
It was jointly developed by Chinese rocket technology developer, the Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and TEDA, with all components being produced in China. The device weighs 180 grams (0.3 pounds) and is powered by two batteries. The HeartCon was submitted for special review and approval procedure, the daily said, after being approved by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration in June 2018.
The Heart Con is considered the first of its kind in China, with its parts also made in China. It was developed through the joint efforts of the hospital and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a developer of the country’s rockets.
The device is a titanium alloy system of hybrid magnetic-hydrodynamic impeller suspension weighing 180g. Powered by two batteries connected to the three-core driveline, it delivers 1-10L of blood per minute.
The hospital and the academy started to cooperate on the device in 2009, and the HeartCon was implanted in a sheep in 2013. It lived 120 days in good health after the procedure.
