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Back in 1947, the search for alternatives  to the human heart began.  Dr. Willem Johan Kolff, known as “the father of artificial organs”, started the research to develop a heart-lung machine and an artificial heart.

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Dr. Willem Johan Kolff developed one of the first heart-lung machines.

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At the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Kolff and Dr. Tetsuzo Akutsu performed a series of animal implants with the artificial heart; a dog withstands for approximately 90 minutes.

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After leaving Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Kolff started the Division of Artificial Organs at the University of Utah. He persevered with  surgeon Dr. Clifford Kwan-Gett and engineer Thomas Kessler in the development of artificial hearts.
(The first successful heart transplant is performed in Cape Town, South Africa, by Dr. Christiaan Barnard.)

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Dr. Denton Cooley at the Texas Heart Institute is the first heart surgeon to implant an artificial heart in a human subject.

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L to R: Don Olsen, Dr. Kolff, Dr. Robert Jarvik

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Three important figures join Dr. Kolff’s team: veterinarian Don Olsen (leads the animal implants), medical engineer Robert Jarvik (designs various artificial hearts) and surgeon Dr. William DeVries (leads the transition from animal implants to human implants).

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Artificial hearts were implanted on calves.

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Dr. DeVries and Dr. Lyle Joyce implanted Jarvik 7 (artificial heart) into a 61-year-old dentist, who lived for 112 days

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William J. Schroeder becomes the second human recipient of Javrik 7 and survived for 620 before dying of a lung infection

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Dr. Jack Copeland became the first surgeon to successfully use the Jarvik 7 as a bridge to human heart transplant.

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The Total Artificial Heart (TAH) has four mechanical valves that work like the heart's own valves to control blood flow. These valves connect the TAH to your heart's upper chambers, called the atrium, and to the major arteries, the pulmonary artery, and the aorta.

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A total artificial heart (TAH) is a pump that is surgically installed to provide circulation and replace heart ventricles that are diseased or damaged. The ventricles pump blood out of the heart to the lungs and other parts of the body.

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Artificial hearts are typically used to prolong the time to heart transplantation.

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Although a mechanical heart transplant endures for several years, the chances of surviving more than four years are less than 60%. The extended period someone has lived with an artificial heart is five years.

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The SynCardia TAH is made of a special biocompatible plastic, which offers a high degree of fatigue resistance and strength for long-term durability. The TAH consists of two artificial ventricles made from biocompatible plastic, which prevents the TAH from being rejected by the body.

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Medical Animation: Total Artificial Heart Implantation | Cincinnati Children's

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After undergoing the TAH implant, the patient will now have a temporary heart that works like the real valves, until they find a heart donor. It will pump blood through the heart’s major artery to the lungs and the rest of the body. However, despite the benefits and promising effects of TAH, it has a possible risk of complication. The major complications of TAH implantation include strokes, infection, bleeding, thrombosis, renal failure, and chronic anemia.

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Over the last century, doctors and engineers have made significant advances in creating an artificial heart. The current purpose of an artificial heart is not to replace the actual human heart, but rather to keep life going until a human heart can be found for transplant. So far, no artificial heart has been created that is without complications. The majority of recipients have infections. Doctors may be able to completely sustain life through an artificial heart, given the advances made over the last century, as they improve each time.