In the early ’80s, people got hyped about a potential artificial heart implant option for those who ideally would need transplants but didn’t have them available – the Jarvik-7, named after its designer Dr. Robert K. Jarvik. It was given first to Dr. Barney B. Clark, 61, was a retired dentist from Seattle who agreed to the experimental effort.
Before that even, the potential for such a device was created and patented by inventor Paul Winchell with the help of Dr. Henry Heimlich (choking victim technique developer Hemilch).
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But as a New York Times article pointed out, from the beginning, even with a lot of optimism, these devices proved to be faulty and led to a pretty immediate death after a painful, cumbersome existence after the surgery.
The journey to create an artificial heart that can actually sustain someone for more than just months has been a challenging journey for scientists, so much so that it’s been questionable if it is feasible direction for inventors to venture, particularly for ethical reasons. Are we just trying to keep someone alive, even if their in pain, or is this reasonable option to allow someone to continue a normal, healthy life? In fact, using the word “permanent” has become somewhat taboo for a device like this. Instead it’s considered temporary, particularly for those who are awaiting a real transplant.
At this point, the Temporary Total Artificial Heart made by SynCardia Systems of Tucson, Ariz., a mechanism designed by a French company, Carmat, is the primary device used today in the United States. Even though this device can add years on to someone’s life, it’s a challenging dilemma considering the number of those needing implants far outweighs potential donated organs.
In today’s medical device era, clearly far further along that it was in the ’80s, there is way more hope for implantable success stories.
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Optimism is still alive, especially right now with current technological progress. There just needs to be even more focus on innovation in this specific area. With so many implantable devices being created successfully, it is in some ways confusing why the heart, designed to simply pump regularly (yes, it is a little more complicated than that, but still…), has been such a mysterious feat.
Potentially, someday, many of the increasing number of heart disease patients, the most prominent cause of death in the U.S, or those suffering from other disorders, will have a more securely viable option other than being put on a never-ending donor list. Investors just need to get on board.
Photo: Screenshot via The New York Times Retro Report
