In a landmark medical milestone, clinicians at Saint Vincent Hospital in Sydney enabled a patient to leave hospital with a titanium heart that acted as a nearly indestructible pump for the chest. Reported in early February, the procedure marked a pivotal development in cardiac surgery. Cited: Saint Vincent Hospital report.
The recipient was a man in his forties. The titanium device sat in the chest, its rotor propelling blood to the lungs and sustaining life for about 105 days. Cited: Biomedical briefing on the device, 2023.
On March 6, the artificial heart was replaced when a donor heart became available. Doctors noted that without the mechanical heart, the patient would not have survived long enough for a transplant. Before the operation, mobility was severely restricted, with simple exertion causing breathlessness. Following the surgery, cardiologist Chris Hemard, who led the team, said the patient might reclaim an active lifestyle.
Leading surgeon Paul Jans called it a real breakthrough and admitted that the success relieved both the surgeon and the patient.
The titanium heart device resulted from nearly a quarter-century of research. Last year a BiVACOR device was transplanted in the United States, where a patient lived with the mechanical heart for eight days before receiving a donor organ from a 58-year-old donor.
Australia’s success marked one of the first outside the United States to report a successful long-term use of the device.
The mechanical heart concept arose with Daniel Timms, a biomedical engineer, after his father’s heart attack in 2001. Timms has said that his background with pipes and valves in a family shop helped him model the body’s circulation in the lab.
Timms said he wanted to contribute to Australia and participate in the first clinical studies. He thanked the patient and family for trusting the technology, and said their courage would pave the way to save many lives.
The BiVACOR titanium heart weighs about 650 grams and keeps blood flowing even during physical activity. Unlike prior artificial hearts with multiple membranes and valves, this device has a single moving component—a magnetically driven rotor that spins between two chambers with minimal friction. That simplicity lowers wear and tear.
The external battery, worn outside the body and connected to the abdomen, remains the only component requiring replacement.
Globally, fewer than 6,000 heart transplants are performed each year, while millions remain without donor hearts. If BiVACOR’s device proves durable in ongoing testing, it could offer a compelling alternative to donor hearts.
This year in Australia, under Monash University’s artificial heart Frontiers program, four additional titanium heart transplants are planned.
Earlier reports noted ongoing drug research aimed at speeding healing after spinal cord injuries.