'Aeson' Artificial Heart Transplant: 39-Year-Old Man Becomes First US Patient to Undergo the Surgery

A team of surgeons has recently completed the first human implantation in the United States of the 'Aeson,' an artificial heart device which the CARMAT French company developed.

A Science Alert report said the artificial heart has a pair of ventricular chambers and four biological valves, just like an "actual organ, " powered by an external device.

In the US alone, thousands are presently awaiting organ transplants, and 17 people, on average, are dying every day since they have run out of time, and that's why the artificial organs development is such an essential field of research.

Made from biocompatible materials that include bovine tissue, the artificial heart uses a combination of sensors and algorithms to keep its pace and keep blood circulating through the body.

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First 'Aeson' Artificial Heart Transplant US Patient

According to Carmelo Milano, a cardiologist from the Duke University School of Medicine, they are encouraged that their patient is doing well following the procedure.

As they examine the device, explained the cardiologist, they are both excited and hopeful that patients "who otherwise have few to totally no options could have a lifeline."

The first US patient to undergo the Aeson artificial heart transplant is 39-year-old Matthew Moore from Shallotte in North Carolina.

Initially, he was due to have a heart bypass operation, but as his condition worsened, the medical staff began running out of options. He turned very ill that even a regular heart transplant was very dangerous.

Fortunately, he was in the right place. At Duke University, the Aeson device is being tested, pending approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

It has attained the green light already, for use by regulators in Europe, after many years of tests in European patients, not all of which have been successful.

An Answer to Shortages of Heart Donors

The artificial heart has been developed to help patients whose hearts can no longer pump adequately through both chambers.

It serves as a replacement for the entire natural heart. Although it is not intended to be fixed or permanent, it is designed to be a bridge towards a complete heart transplant within six months or so.

Due to the shortages of heart donors, a lot of patients are dying while they wait for a heart transplant, explained Jacob Schroder, a cardiologist from Duke University School of Medicine.

He added, they are hopeful for new options to help the patients, many like this 39-year-old, who have a devastating illness and cannot otherwise be qualified for a transplant.

'Aeson' Artificial Heart Transplant

AP News reported, CARMAT is the designer and developer of the Aeson device, the world's most advanced total artificial heart. It is this developer's aim to provide a therapeutic substitute for people who suffer from end-stage biventricular heart failure.

The Aeson artificial heart is the first commercial implant, not to mention the first sale in the history of CARMAT. Such an implant represents the first sale ever, which CARMAT has recorded since its creation in 2008. It is a major milestone, opening up a new chapter in the development of the company.

This is just a single device for one specific organ. Meanwhile, other research groups are working on other parts of the body that can potentially step in when specific parts of the body fail. If the technology can be successfully and safely developed, the probable benefits are huge.

A similar Verywell Health report said the company announced the FDA had approved trials of its artificial heart in the US, involving 10 patients who have end-stage biventricular heart failure, and analyze if the Aeson can function as a way of prolonging life before a heart transplant can take place.

For the time being, Moore will need to carry out a controller, and a pack of rechargeable batteries for the Aeson to keep functioning, remains alive, and the technology that keeps him alive could go on to save thousands of lives in the future if more tests of the device turn out to be positive.

Information about the Aeson device is shown on CARMAT SA's YouTube video below: