There is a shortage of sufficient donor organs all over the world and this particularly applies to hearts. So it's no wonder that researchers are increasingly working on artificial hearts that are as close to the real thing as possible. Usually willnew organsgrown using stem cells. However, doctoral student Nicholas Cohrs used a 3D printer to create the first pumping artificial heart. The developer created an artificial heart that is similar to the human heart in many ways.
Artificial heart made with 3D printer
Although the artificial heart is otherwise very similar to the human one, in addition to the two usual heart chambers, it also has a third one that is responsible for pumping. Air pressure imitates the muscle contractions that ensure that blood can flow in the body. The team of researchers from ETH Zurich has made great progress. However, the artificial heart is still far from being suitable for implantation.
Artificial heart – lifespan very short
The 390-gram silicone heart only worked for 3,000 beats in the test. Calculated in minutes, that's between 30 and 45. However, this result should not be seen as a disappointment. The printed heart may not yet be able to save lives. But it shows that in addition to using stem cells, there could also be another way to create an artificial heart. Cohrs says: “Our goal was not to present an implantable heart, but rather to think in a new direction when developing artificial hearts.”
Heart patients must continue to hope
Ultimately, it won't matter to patients who need a new heart whether it's an organ made from stem cells or an artificial heart made from silicone and a 3D printer, as long as it does its job. Currently, medicine only has heart prostheses, which can extend the patient's lifespan, but are not a permanent solution because they do not work ideally.
Progress in this direction would be spectacular for the 26 million patients worldwide who are waiting for a donor heart, but also for medicine in general. A working oneHeart valve and chamberResearchers at the University of Pittsburg have already been able to produce them using a 3D printer.
You can find the study by Nicholas Cohrs and his team at ETH Zurichhere.
