TAH Technology: Present and Future

To date, two total artificial hearts have been available: one American device developed at the end of World War II, the CardioWest, first implanted in Italy in Padua in 2007; and a second developed by the French, initially called Carmat and now known as Aeson.

The first one is an extremely noisy heart because it is pneumatic and therefore does not guarantee an adequate quality of life. The second one is silent because it is electric and has better biocompatibility since all four valves are biological. Unfortunately, this second device is too large; as a result, fewer than 75% of men and fewer than 15% of women can be potential recipients. Both total artificial hearts are used as a bridge to heart transplantation rather than as a definitive alternative replacement to transplantation.

Today, it is crucial to develop a total artificial heart that is small enough to be used in all patients, regardless of sex and body size, that is silent and highly biocompatible to ensure an adequate quality of life, and that can be used as a definitive alternative to heart transplantation.