The Jarvik-7
The Jarvik-7 was a mechanical device, made of polyurethane and aluminium, which was used to replace the two ventricles of a human heart.
The pumping action came from air, compressed by an electrical unit located outside of the patient's body. The Human-made organ had two separate ventricles grafted with Dracon sleeves to the native atria and great vessels. It was powered by a 400 pound (180 kg) air compressor, connected to the heart, through a tube coming out of the patient body. In order to give the patients the ability to move, it was also invented a portable power console which was the size of a briefcase. Since 1982, 350 patients have used the Jarvik-7 heart model, and today its original design is still used for the modern Jarvik-7, although due to propriety passages the device name is currently “SynCardia”. On October 2004, the Jarvick-7 model was the first medical device to receive a full-FDA approval.
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