Like I keep saying, I hope it will be perfect by the time I need it.

A Massachusetts company received federal approval Tuesday to sell up to 4,000 artificial hearts a year, though the number of devices implanted annually will likely be far smaller.

The hearts would be used only in patients who are close to death and have no other treatment options.

The Food and Drug Administration granted Abiomed Inc. a humanitarian exemption allowing it to sell the devices, agency spokeswoman Susan Bro said. The actual number of the devices, called the AbioCor, to be implanted likely will be small — between just 25 and 50 a year, Bro said.

Right now I imagine you’d have to be in dire straights to try such an immature technology.



  1. ECA says:

    I dont have the heart to say it.

    IT.

  2. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    I hope it is prefect when you need it too. 🙂  (oops, fixed – ed)

  3. Rob says:

    From the picture, it looks like they just took a standard automobile piston head and encased it in plastic! Good way to cut down production costs.

    🙂

  4. RTaylor says:

    You have to remember the people that receives these devices have been very sick for quite a while. An Uncle of mine lived with less than 20% heart function for five years. He barely shuffled around the house on oxygen and could only leave the house in a wheel chair. Many people would have given up, but he fought for every minute of life. He would have signed up for one of these in a heart beat, forgive the pun.

  5. Mr. H. Fusion says:

    Right now I imagine you’d have to be in dire straights to try such an immature technology.

    Which will be the only recipients getting one.

  6. Hal Jordan says:

    Those who do not believe in intelligent design are not intelligent enough to understand why it’s taking too long for the world’s best scientists to copy a thing as common as a human heart.

  7. Mr. H. Fusion says:

    Those who do not believe in intelligent design are not intelligent enough to understand why it’s taking too long for the world’s best scientists to copy a thing as common as a human heart.
    Comment by Hal Jordan — 9/9/2006 @ 7:25 am

    Those that do believe in Intelligent Design are just too stupid to question why their god would create a heart that fails. How could god screw up something as common as the human heart?


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