World’s 1st artificial heart transplant

• It is powered by a battery to be worn externally
• A 75-yr-old gets artificial organ made by Carmat
• It weighs thrice an average healthy human heart

London: For the first time, an artificial heart that may give patients up to five years of extra life, has been successfully implanted in a 75-year-old French man. The artificial heart, designed by French biomedical firm Carmat, is powered by Lithium-ion batteries that can be worn externally. The heart that was put into the patient at Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris uses a range of "bio-materials", including bovine tissue, to reduce the likelihood of the body rejecting it. The patient "is progressing and recuperating", said surgeon Christian Latremouille, who was among the 16-strong team of doctors who performed the operation on December 18.

This device is intended to replace a real heart for as many as five years, unlike previous artificial hearts that were created mainly for temporary use.

Doctors said the patient, who received the device developed by Dutch-based European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), was awake and responding well after the operation. The heart weighs as little as less than a kilogram, almost three times as much as an average healthy human heart. The device mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patient's moves, the report said.

The heart surfaces that come into contact with human blood are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic, which can cause blood clots. Cardiac surgeon Alain Carpentier, who led the operation and who has spent 25 years working on the development of the artificial heart, said he was grateful to the patient for taking part in the trial. "He has a lot of humour. He's a very good patient," he told reporters. More volunteers could soon benefit from the 900-gram (31-ounce) device, according to Philippe Pouletty, who co-founded Carmat with Carpentier.