Health Devices. 2002 Sep;31(9):332-41.
Although heart transplantation remains the most effective treatment for severe heart failure, there are far fewer donor hearts available than there are patients who could benefit from them. One approach to addressing this shortfall is the total artificial heart, or TAH. To date, however, no TAH design has been able to achieve one of the ultimate goals of heart replacement: to allow a patient to live a reasonably normal life without being connected to external machinery. A new design, the AbioCor TAH developed by Abiomed Inc., may make this goal achievable. Thanks to a power system that transfers energy through the skin without the aid of wires, the AbioCor--currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States--allows the patient to be completely mobile. The lack of transcutaneous wires also eliminates the primary source of the infections that have plagued TAH patients in the past. Though it is not without drawbacks, the AbioCor could represent a crucial advance in TAH technology. In this Technology Overview, we describe the operation of the AbioCor and discuss its likely impact on hospitals if it is approved for marketing in the United States. We also discuss a related cardiac-support technology: ventricular assist devices (VADs), which may also be used for permanent cardiac support someday.
尽管心脏移植仍然是治疗严重心力衰竭最有效的方法，但可用的供体心脏数量远远少于能够从中受益的患者数量。解决这一短缺问题的一种方法是使用全人工心脏（TAH）。然而，迄今为止，尚无任何TAH设计能够实现心脏置换的最终目标之一：让患者在不连接外部设备的情况下过上相对正常的生活。由Abiomed公司研发的一种新型设计——AbioCor TAH，可能使这一目标得以实现。得益于一种无需电线就能通过皮肤传输能量的动力系统，目前正在美国进行临床试验的AbioCor让患者能够完全自由活动。没有经皮电线也消除了过去一直困扰TAH患者的感染的主要源头。尽管它并非没有缺点，但AbioCor可能代表着TAH技术的一项重大进步。在本技术概述中，我们将描述AbioCor的运行情况，并讨论如果它在美国获批上市，可能对医院产生的影响。我们还将讨论一种相关的心脏支持技术：心室辅助装置（VAD），有朝一日它也可能用于永久性心脏支持。
