An Artificial Heart Is Issued To A Man For Life Outside Of A Hospital
In the medical field, technology is instrumental in improving the quality of life for the elderly, injured and disabled. Over the years, we’ve seen innovations such as artificial lungs, hearing aids, prosthetic limbs and motorized wheelchairs developed to help those with crippled bodies due to injury, disease, birth defects or advanced age. But now a man has been given a completely artificial heart to live outside of a hospital for the first time in history.
This man is an Arizona resident named Charles Okeke, who previously spent two years in dependence on a 400-pound machine for daily survival, keeping him confined to life in a hospital. However, his life has drastically changed with the recent development of a new artificial heart called the Freedom Driver. This device utilizes miniaturized technology and a backpack power source to allow patients with a heart deficiency to live more independently. Thus making long-term hospital stays hooked up to a heavy machine for survival a thing of the past. The Freedom Driver was created by a company in Tucson called SynCardia and they’re also the makers of the Total Artificial Heart, the 400-pound machine once used by Charles Okeke. In comparison to the older machine, Okeke’s new artificial heart is only 13 pounds.
Obviously, the Freedom Driver is an important innovation in medical technology. In the past, people in need of a new heart were forced to live in a hospital, connected to a heavy machine while they waited for a compatible heart donor. However, the new artificial heart created by SynCardia could prove to be an alternative solution if the search for a heart donor fails. Furthermore, Charles Okeke could live out the rest of his days with the help of the Freedom Driver. Nonetheless, this medical breakthrough is a costly one, with rates such as $125,000 to $18,000 to keep the device operational up to a year.
Tags: artificial heart, Charles Okeke, Freedom Driver, SynCardia
