French artificial heart maker plans second implant after death of first recipient
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French artificial heartmaker Carmat plans to try a second implant "probably in a few weeks' time" after the death of the first recipient of its new design of artificial heart.
The second experiment would depend on finding a suitable patient, the biomedical company's co-founder Philippe Pouletty told Europe 1 radio.
The first recipient, a French 76-year-old man with a terminal heart disease, died on 2 March, two and a half months after receiving an artificial heart.
"Currently we don't know the patient's cause of death," said Pouletty, refuting a theory put forward by Alain Carpentier, the father of the artificial heart, that a short circuit caused the device to stop working.
"The prosthesis is a complex tool, linked to the vascular system and the power supply, any excessive simplification is wrong," said Pouletty.
Artificial hearts have been used for many years as a temporary fix for patients with chronic heart problems but Carmat's device provides a longer-term solution and enables patients to return home and lead normal lives.
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