A man in his 40s has lived for 100 days with an artificial heart made entirely of titanium while waiting for a heart transplant from a donor.
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| The titanium artificial heart invented by BiVACOR helped the patient survive for 100 days before receiving a heart transplant from a donor. (Source: BiVACOR) |
In a six-hour operation at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia , in November 2024, doctors implanted a BiVACOR artificial heart, a mechanical blood pump made of titanium, into a man with severe heart failure. This is considered a temporary solution for people waiting for a heart donor.
In February, the patient became the first person in the world to leave hospital with a titanium artificial heart. He then underwent a heart transplant from a donor earlier this month.
The man who performed the artificial heart surgery was renowned cardiologist and transplant surgeon Paul Jansz. He described feeling “goosebumps” and nervous when Daniel Timms, the inventor of the artificial heart, flipped the switch after the surgery.
The BiVACOR artificial heart is made entirely of titanium, uses magnets to suspend the rotor, the parts do not rub or wear out over time and weighs only about 650 grams - small enough to fit the body of a 12-year-old.
The device uses a rechargeable battery and is connected to the heart via a wire in the patient's chest. The battery needs to be replaced every four hours to ensure the titanium heart continues to function.
Doctors hope that in the future, patients will not need to carry batteries, and can even place the wireless charger on their chest, similar to the way wireless cell phones are charged today.
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| From left to right: Professor Chris Hayward, Dr Paul Jansz and Dr Daniel Timms. (Source: St Vincent's Hospital Sydney) |
BiVACOR founder Dr. Daniel Timms, inventor of the titanium heart, said he was “excited to see his decades of work put to the test.”
“The entire BiVACOR team is incredibly grateful to the patient and family for their trust in our total artificial heart. This courage will open new doors for many more patients,” said Dr. Daniel Timms.
BiVACOR's founder hopes that within two to three years, artificial hearts will no longer be a novelty and will be implanted in more and more people.
Professor Chris Hayward, Victor Chang Heart Institute, who is currently monitoring the patient's recovery and is also involved in the clinical trial, said the titanium heart opens "a whole new chapter for heart transplantation". This will become an alternative for patients waiting for a donor heart or without a donor heart.
Five patients have previously been successfully implanted with the device, but none were discharged with an artificial heart. The first case, in July 2024, involved a 58-year-old man with end-stage heart failure who received a titanium heart and was kept alive for eight days until a donor heart became available.
The transplant in Australia is the first to date and the longest-lasting transplant using a tian heart – 100 days for the patient.
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, killing about 18 million people each year.
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