this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
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Australian man survives 100 days with artificial heart in world-first success (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 day ago by moe90@feddit.nl to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 288 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The Australian researchers and doctors behind the operation announced on Wednesday that the implant had been an “unmitigated clinical success” after the man lived with the device for more than 100 days before receiving a donor heart transplant in early March.

Just in case anyone else also found the title ambiguous regarding whether "100 days" meant he died 😅

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 69 points 1 day ago

Thank you.

[–] biggerbogboy@sh.itjust.works 38 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Apparently you can live with a BiVACOR TAH for around 10 years without replacement due to the Maglev system inside it.

Gosh it feels like cyberpunk 2077 is just a few years away, we just need more corporate built cities.

[–] orrk@lemmy.world 10 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

oh yay, a techno dystopia, just wait for the repo men after you miss your heart payment

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 4 hours ago

https://tubitv.com/movies/332938/repo-the-genetic-opera

I guess that could be the specific dystopia we're aiming for. It's a hell of a race to beat the other dystopias/apocalypses there though. But what else would you expect from a type 13 planet in it's final stage?

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

This is Australia, so the patient would be out of pocket about $2.50 for parking at the hospital.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 hours ago

Canada's the same except we have serious parking mafia and it's c$20.

When my dear friend suffered a Widowmaker heart attack, and they lit up and staffed a theatre on an early holiday Sunday morning for a brace of stents, he didn't have to sell his house to make payments for it... Because it was c$20 for parking and a bit more for some really bad coffee. Costs were borne by all of us and it was pre-paid from taxes.

Dude survived and annoys us with his sarcasm and piss-takes to this day.

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 20 points 1 day ago

America is on track I’d say, Musk n Zuck are so horny to do that…

[–] hark@lemmy.world 3 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I remember reading about this years ago. It's so cool seeing it being used successfully in a patient! Technology like this makes me feel better about the future.

[–] TipsyMcGee@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 hours ago

It's really cool, but also kind of depressing, to see what we're capable of when we're also speed running to extinction while not even implementing well-known and obvious mitigation steategies.

[–] Hux@lemmy.ml 128 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (9 children)

Did some fuckin’ Aussie heart surgeon just breeze into a Home Depot and saunter into the plumbing aisle in his board shorts and flips flops and just whip together a heart out of brass fittings and teflon tape???

“Oi! DANNY, YA FUCKIN’ BOGAN! I DONE DID YA UP A NEW RICKY TICKEY—ALL FUCKIN’ SHINEY AND CHROME!!! GRAB A CARPET KNIFE AND SOME DUNNY GLOVES—WE’ll GET THIS FUCKER INTO YOUR BLUDGER CHEST BEFORE YA SHEILA SAYS YA WERE CHUCKING A SICKIE!”

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 37 points 1 day ago (3 children)

SHINY AND CHROME

[–] 2deck@lemmy.world 35 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The surgeon yelled

WITNESS!!

And thrust the heart into their chest.

[–] wabafee@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

WITNESS!!!

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[–] synapse1278@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Function over form, I suppose. I am pretty sure it's mostly made of titanium and silicone.

It does seems like that sometimes tho, that surgeons are the mechanics of the human body, fixing you up in the most crude ways, as long as it gets the job done.

[–] Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Friend of mine who'd been in the room for bone surgeries said it was basically just carpentry. All saws, drills & screws.

[–] Chocobofangirl@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Chainsaws were invented for surgery.

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[–] nodiratime@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That's the reason a friend of mine once said that surgeons are the only Doctor meds he has respect for.

Also, what do you mean form follows function? It looks like a fricking mini turbo charger 😎

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 3 points 1 day ago

Funny you would say that, the inventor credits trips with his father to Bunnings as inspiration for his work

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 day ago

I just gotta say.

Photoshopping is such a great skill to have. Thank you for making my day better.

[–] TheWinged7@lemm.ee 18 points 1 day ago

It'd be a Bunnings down here not home depot, but it sure looks like it

[–] roguetrick@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

For orthopods though, using power tools and sledgehammers is pretty much the name of the game.

[–] nightlily@leminal.space 4 points 1 day ago

Bunnings is the appropriate hardware store franchise here. He of course would have grabbed a Snag outside on the way home

[–] FreshLight@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

How can I upvote a comment more than once?

[–] Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.com 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

How does this handle activities that require increased blood flow? Does it have a little rheostat you crank to 11 when it's time to go for a jog or something?

[–] whats_all_this_then@programming.dev 13 points 1 day ago

That sounds strampunk af, I'd get it even if I didn't need one if it did that!

[–] original_reader@lemm.ee 86 points 1 day ago (1 children)

First of all: congratulations. Seriously. This is awesome! Secondly: you designed the most Steampunk looking heart you could. Bravo, truly a capital marvel of fine craftsmanship.

[–] daddy32@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Yes, I opened the article just to find an answer to the question: Does it really look this fucking cool? Answer: yes, yes it does.

[–] taxiiiii@lemmy.world 4 points 23 hours ago

Now this is fucking cool! Sure it will probably take some time to become affordable, but that it's possible at all is awesome.

[–] Skanky@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Not to belittle this accomplishment, but how is this a "World's First" success?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart

[–] Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Because I read the article I actually know the answer! It's the first time this technology has been used in a human, and it's been a huge success so far. Quote from the article

The BiVACOR total artificial heart, invented by Queensland-born Dr Daniel Timms, is the world’s first implantable rotary blood pump that can act as a complete replacement for a human heart, using magnetic levitation technology to replicate the natural blood flow of a healthy heart.

[–] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It would be nice if the article said if the artificial heart includes functions such as pumping harder in response to exercise and such, because it isn't entirely clear if it does

Maybe it's implied, but I feel it should be explicitly mentioned

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I actually asked this very question in another post and got a technician who worked on this to answer: https://feddit.org/comment/5284139

[–] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 18 hours ago

Ooh, nice, thanks!

[–] kiagam@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Other prosthetic/mechanical changes to hearts don't do that, so I would guess this one doesn't either. It would require interfacing with the brain and decoding stimulus, which would be much more complex.

Usually the recipents just keep activity low or pass out when they need the energy/heat dissipation and can't get it.

[–] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago

Yes exactly, so when they call it a "total heart replacement" I'd like to have clarification on it, so that I know how excited I should get

It's frustrating when articles on new innovations don't go into details about them at all except just "it exists" pretty much

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Likely the length of time is what's first.

Edit: nope several people have had them for over 100 days

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago

That thing looks so steampunk, I’m kinda jealous.

[–] devilish666@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Now time to make it look like some DeusEx heart

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's fuckin' nuts.

Also, this headline is bad. I thought he died. No. He just got a transplant after 100 days (whew).

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[–] Zip2@feddit.uk 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I wonder if his mates will forever call him “Tin Man”.

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

I am titaneeeuum!

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

This might be sort if news. I know a guy that had a pump for a heart it pumped the same non stop pressure and he wore a satchel type battery pack forever but functioned fairly normal. Always had to keep extra batteries around and the internal pump had a backup of 30 to 45 mins. This was 15 years ago.

[–] scytale@lemm.ee 19 points 1 day ago (2 children)

If it was the same pressure all the time, does that mean he couldn’t do anything that would otherwise cause a normal heart to beat faster (run, exercise, feel nervous)? Would he faint or something since his “heart” won’t beat faster?

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

So his heart was pronounced dead, it didnt function but was left inside I think. I always wondered his abilities and I asked once that very question, particularly towards having sex lol. He used to be an alcoholic and could no longer drink as it would thin the blood and thus mess with the pumping ability.

I don't recall him ever doing anything strenuous and truthfully don't recall his answer to that question but seems like he joked that he could still do it with a woman. He walked slow, talked slowish labored sort of, laughed sheepishly like a labored laugh. Generally looked sick like you can imagine. He drove cars and that's about all I remember. Im unsure if he could turn it up maybe? I haven't spoken with him in a decade. I don't even know if he is still alive.

He got robbed/mugged in a big city about 10 years ago, the mugger took his satchel containing his medical battery bank despite him explaining the battery pack and pleading at gunpoint on a downtown street. He nearly died and an ambulance couldn't arrive in time. A stranger he flagged on the street transported him to a hospital where they somehow got him hooked up to a new battery system. They said he had mere minutes left on the internal battery inside his pump. That was the last info I heard of him. Wild to think about and he told the robber it was a medical pack but they thought it was a laptop bag and took it anyhow, it was more square like a car battery than a satchel but more vertical shaped like a rectangle.

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[–] Resurectra@lemm.ee 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Sounds like a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)! They’re still being used today, although usually as a bridge to transplant rather than definitive therapy.

This new development is definitely exciting though, hopefully it will offer a new longer term alternative for patients :)

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