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 2 days ago by moe90@feddit.nl to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 266 points 2 days 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 66 points 2 days ago

Thank you.

[–] Hux@lemmy.ml 114 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days 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 32 points 2 days ago (3 children)

SHINY AND CHROME

[–] 2deck@lemmy.world 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The surgeon yelled

WITNESS!!

And thrust the heart into their chest.

[–] wabafee@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

WITNESS!!!

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[–] synapse1278@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days 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 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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

[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

It's been a while since I watched the video, but I think I remember this guy having some interesting things to say about surgeries. The things I vaguely remember align with what you said.

[–] nodiratime@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days 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 😎

[–] TheWinged7@lemm.ee 18 points 2 days ago

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

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 day ago

I just gotta say.

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

[–] 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?

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

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

[–] biggerbogboy@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 day ago (2 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 9 points 1 day ago

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

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 19 points 1 day ago

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

[–] original_reader@lemm.ee 85 points 2 days 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 4 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.

[–] Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.com 13 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 9 points 1 day ago

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

[–] Skanky@lemmy.world 13 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 23 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 4 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 4 points 1 day ago (1 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

[–] kiagam@lemmy.world 2 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 2 days ago

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

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 19 points 2 days 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).

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago

it would be so fucking cool if he still had it but it really is uncharted territory

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 23 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 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 2 days 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 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days 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 2 days 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 :)

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

I don't recall him ever having a transplant done but again as I said below in the long story you might find interesting. I haven't heard from him in years. It was certainly wild to think about and to realize he has no heartbeat anymore. I'll ask a family member what ever come of him. Hopefully all is well with him. Who knows.

[–] sneakyninjapants@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Sounds like a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). Interestingly enough, with the older implants there is no detectable heartbeat under a stethoscope due to the way the pump functions. Pretty surprising when you're expecting to find one, and has led to it being unoficially dubbed VLAD in reference to the creatures of the night.

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago

This rejogs a partial memory. I do recall he said he no longer has a heart beat. He told me his heart was pronounced dead part or the whole thing I am unsure. I gave a decent story and better description below in another comment.

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[–] Zip2@feddit.uk 11 points 2 days 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!

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

Now time to make it look like some DeusEx heart

[–] taxiiiii@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day 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.

[–] Coldgoron@lemm.ee 6 points 2 days ago

Rare humanity win.

[–] Emi@ani.social 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I wonder if there'll ever be artificial heart that would last for decades, I imagine that would save lots of people.

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 3 points 1 day ago

I imagine that would save lots of people.

Lots and lots and lots. All the issues with scarcity of donor hearts and tissue compatibility would just go away, and the main constraint on heart transplants would become the availability of a cardiac surgeon. Far fewer people would die while they were on a waiting list, and there would be much less incentive to drop anyone healthy enough to survive the surgery off the list entirely.

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