{"id":21334,"date":"2017-07-24T12:16:58","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T16:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=21334"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:13:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:13:34","slug":"eth-zurich-soft-artificial-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/eth-zurich-soft-artificial-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"ETH Zurich Researchers Develop Soft Artificial Heart Using 3D-Printing Method and Silicone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heart failure is a major problem afflicting about 26 million people around the world. In the U.S. alone, about 6.5 million people suffer from heart failure, and the the number is projected to rise to 8 million by 2030,<\/span> according to the <\/span>American Heart Association<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>When heart failure reaches end stage, heart transplant may be the only effective treatment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of donor hearts. While <\/span>more than 5,000<\/span><\/a> heart transplants take place around the world each year, the number of approved transplantation candidates is estimated at more than 50,000. What\u2019s more, many more people who need a new heart are <\/span>not considered and approved<\/span><\/a> as transplantation candidates due advanced age, cancer history, or other pre-conditions. Consequently, many receive <\/span>ventricular assist devices<\/span><\/a> (heart pumps). Others die waiting for a heart transplant. <\/span><\/p>\n

The need for a well-functioning artificial heart is therefore critical. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, researchers <\/span>from the ETH Zurich <\/span>Functional Materials Laboratory<\/span><\/a> have a potential solution. They have <\/span>developed<\/span><\/a> a soft artificial heart that looks, and beats, like a real heart. <\/span><\/p>\n

The soft artificial heart was created from a single block of silicone, using a 3D-printing method that allowed the researchers to create a complex inner structure. <\/span><\/p>\n

Like a human heart, it has a right and a left ventricle. But unlike a human heart, in which the two ventricles are separated by a septum (wall of muscle), the right and left ventricles in this soft artificial heart are separated by an additional chamber. This chamber mimics the muscle contraction of the human heart; it fills and deflates to create the pumping action.<\/span><\/p>\n

The creator of this soft artificial heart is <\/span>Nicholas Cohrs<\/span><\/a>, a doctoral student at ETH\u2019s Functional Materials Laboratory, which is led by <\/span>Wendelin Stark<\/span><\/a>, a professor at ETH Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering and chair in Functional Materials Engineering. <\/span><\/p>\n

The research team also includes <\/span>Anastasios Petrou<\/span><\/a>, a doctoral student at the ETH <\/span>Product Development Group<\/span><\/a>, who led the testing of this soft artificial heart.<\/span><\/p>\n