In May this year, we reported a Paris-based medical firm Carmat. who had plans of implanting a new $195,000 artificial heart which has sections of cow tissue into a human being. The company initially won approval in Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Poland, and Belgium earlier this year. In September, France eventually came on board, and Health Minister Marisol Touraine is wasting no time in touting Carmat’s success.
According to Carmat’s CEO Marcelo Conviti who said,
We are delighted with this first implant, although it is premature to draw conclusions given that a single implant has been performed and that we are in the early postoperative phase,
Carmat’s artificial heart, which is three times heavier than a human’s, can beat for up to five years and is designed for patients suffering from end-stage heart failure. Carmat has other patients lined up for early human trials; according to Reuters, the procedures will be deemed successful for all patients that survive with the implant for over a month.
