Australia-US team brings world-first durable total artificial heart

A consortium of universities, hospitals and industry, led by Monash University in Australia and US-based BiVACOR, have received $1 million in Australia’s Federal Government funding to develop and commercialise a world-first durable Total Artificial Heart. Made possible through funding from the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the Artificial Heart Frontiers Programme will develop and commercialise these new devices through the use of novel, innovative technology applied to this global health problem. Importantly, the research team seeks to take this new technology to market within the six-year duration of the MRFF Frontiers programme. Through this programme, the research team hopes to save lives, create jobs, and establish Australia as a worldwide leader in the medical device sector. The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart is an implantable total artificial heart based on rotary blood pump technology. Similar in size to an adult fist, it is small enough to be implanted in many women and some children yet capable of providing enough cardiac output to an adult male undergoing exercise.