The artificial heart gadget has been successfully trialed on small animals and is being perfected on goats. A team of IIT Kharagpur's School of Medical Science and Technology developed the 'Total Artificial Heart (TAH),' after a research of four years. The institute has applied for the consent of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct this trial on humans as well. The artificial heart is much better and is quite affordable as compared to the heart developed in the US that showed a high rate of failure and was priced at INR 30 lakhs which was in no way affordable for a common man. 'The 13-chamber heart is working very well in small animals,' said a team member.
The team is expecting to fit the heart into a human body within a few months time after seeking permission from ICMR. Human tests will be conducted at the Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata. Senior cardiac surgeons who will conduct the human trials include Madhusudan Pal, Bhaskar Ukil, Tarun Saha and Kalishankar Das from MCH and Rajiv Narang of AIIMS. 'Former AIIMS director and one of the leading cardiac surgeons of the country are expected to be a part of the team,' said Sujoy Guha, IIT-K faculty member and bio-medical engineering expert, who is also leading the team. 'TAH will act as a rescue for patients having heart ailments, especially with very weak heart muscles that require immediate transplantation of the heart,' added Guha.
