Dutch scientists from the University of Amsterdam Medical Center have been awarded £ 30m from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for their research into creating a robo-heart that could revolutionize transplantation around the world.
Robo-heart will revolutionize transplantology
Professor Jolanda Kluin, who was the originator of the creation of the robo-heart, said that we are decades away from building a heart from the patient’s own cells, but today it is possible to start working on a robo-heart that will save hundreds of patients with this organ failure waiting for a heart transplant .
Three years ago, Kluin noticed a photo of a starfish robot in a Dutch newspaper that looked like a real marine animal. This inspired the researcher to start work on the robot-heart – a device that beats like a real heart and is a combination of biology and robotics.
The hybrid heart is lined with the patient’s own cellsthus preventing abnormal clotting, infections and unwanted body reactions. The artificial heart would be powered by wearing a special jacket with a charger connected via a coil to the artificial heart. The set will also include a separate battery so that patients with an artificial heart can take a bath.
See also: Polish transplantology is in trouble. Fewer and fewer donors and transplants
There are approximately 7 million people in Great Britain suffering from heart and circulatory system diseases. Each year, 152 people die from it. For many patients, the only chance of recovery is a heart transplant, but donation in this regard is very limited. In 000/2018, only 2019 heart transplants were performed in the UK. There are almost 178 people on the waiting list. 300 patients do not survive the transplant each year. Not only in Great Britain there is a shortage of hearts for transplants.
See also: Monika was waiting for an urgent heart transplant. Suddenly a miracle happened
Heart transplants in Poland
The data from “Poltransplantu” shows that 2018 hearts were collected in Poland in 149. In two cases, the removed organ was disqualified for medical reasons. This means that 147 collected hearts were transplanted (including multi-organ heart and kidney, heart and liver transplants). At the same time, 326 new heart recipients were reported in the same year, and 946 people were waiting for a heart transplant. On December 31.12.2018, 453, 92 recipients were actively awaiting their hearts. The average waiting time for a heart transplant from the moment of qualification was 359 days urgently, and 2018 days in the planned mode (data for XNUMX).
The robo-heart prepared by Dutch scientists may be a breakthrough invention for transplantology around the world.
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