The robot heart

Implanted device could end the need for organ transplants within 8 years

A ROBOTIC heart could end the need for transplants within eight years, scientists believe.

Experts in Cambridge, London and the Netherlands are developing a ‘soft robot’ heart which could keep blood pumping around the body.

They aim to implant the first working prototype in animals within three years and in humans by 2028.

The device is one of four projects shortlisted for a major £30million prize, funded by the British Heart Foundation, to transform the treatment of heart disease.

Top cardiovascular researchers from around the world – including experts from Oxford,

Imperial College London, Harvard and Sheffield – are among the teams competing to win the prize, which the BHF said is its biggest investment in ‘pioneering science’ in its history.

As well as the robotic heart, the shortlisted projects include a vaccine for heart disease, a genetic cure for heart defects and ‘wearable’ technology that could spot heart attacks and strokes before they happen.

The four finalists have received £50,000 in seed funding to develop their ideas in the next six months, before a winner is announced this summer.

The ‘hybrid heart’ project, led by the University of Amsterdam, uses synthetic robotic material that replicates the contractions of a heart, combined with layers of human cells made in the lab. Powered by a wireless battery and charged from a device worn in a jacket or vest, it could save hundreds of lives, scientists say. Professor Jolanda Kluin, of the University of Amsterdam, said: ‘While radical, our ambition is not science fiction. Based on our preliminary results we know we can make it happen.’