Bionic Heart

Beating Heart Failure - New Bionic Heart Charges Wirelessly Inside Patient's Chest

February 8, 2019—


More than 50 years ago, a doctor implanted the first mechanical heart pump, also known as a ventricular assist device (VAD), in the chest of a patient whose heart couldn’t pump blood on its own. Since then, the devices have saved countless lives, including that of Ismail Tursunov.

Leviticus Cardio & Jarvik Heart Inc. announced the successful implantation of the fully implanted ventricular assist device (FIVAD) into a human.

The companies reported that the first implant of FIVAD in a human was successfully performed in December 2018 at the National Research Center for Cardiac Surgery in Astana, Kazakhstan. The patient has been discharged from the hospital and is back leading a normal life.

Additionally, an article about the FIVAD implantation was published online ahead of print by Yuryi Pya, MD, et al in Journal for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

According to the companies, FIVAD is based on technology created by Leviticus Cardio, which is headquartered in Israel. The device uses coplanar energy transfer to wirelessly power the Jarvik 2000 heart pump produced by Jarvik Heart.

The fully implanted system is powered wirelessly using both internal and external components designed by Leviticus Cardio. The system allows patients to walk around without any physical impediments for up to 8 hours a day. FIVAD is also equipped with a back-up system (Jarvik Heart postauricular driveline connection) which would allow moving to traditional wired power in case the wireless system failed. The back-up was tested during the implant procedure but it has not been needed since that initial implant test, noted the companies.