Skip to main content

Human hearts replaced by 10,000 RPM artificial pump with no pulse

Human hearts replaced by 10,000 RPM artificial pump with no pulse

/

Doctors Bud Frazier and Billy Cohn have devised an artificial replacement that provides a continuous flow of blood throughout the body.

Share this story

Heart pump
Heart pump

At least fifty calves and three human beings are living with no pulse in their bodies, thanks to an artificial pump that replaced their naturally-grown hearts, as detailed in a story from Popular Science. Doctors Bud Frazier and Billy Cohn devised the artificial organ, and it can completely replace a heart and provide a continuous flow of blood throughout a body without recreating a pulse. While the pulse produced by a creature's heart is an age-old indicator of life and death, it's been a tricky thing for the medical field to replicate — but the pulse doesn't appear to be necessary for life. Cohn tells Popular Science that "I think we're on the verge, right now, of solving the artificial-heart problem for good. All we had to do was get rid of the pulse." Be sure to hit the source link if you want to learn more about the incredible genesis of this technology.