Early Experience of Implantation of a New Pulsatile Total Artificial Heart (TAH) in the Pig

Abstract

The shortage of donor hearts and the physiological impact of pulsatile perfusion have driven technical innovation research efforts to create a positive displacement total artificial heart that can produce pulsatile flow and has a reasonable size for long-term assist in chronic heart failure. Such a product is the Scandinavian Real Heart 8 (SRH8); a new pulsatile total artificial heart. We here describe the basic principles of the surgical and anesthesiologic techniques we have developed for implantation of the latest prototype of this device.