World's smallest artificial heart, created by Iasi students, impresses specialists
The smallest artificial heart in the world created by a group of students from the "Gr.T.Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi, and presented in the final of the HeartHackathon 2024 world competition in Japan, impressed both the jury and the other competitors.
At the competition in Japan, the students who are part of the MAVIS Artificial Heart team of the "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi won, for the second consecutive year, "The most advanced design" award.
"We were the only team that met all the requirements to be small enough to be implanted in the human body, to be durable enough to last at least 5 years, to be highly bio-compatible and efficient from the point of view energy. We ticked all these requirements. In addition, our device was the only functional one", said Alexandru Plesoianu, coordinator of the MAVIS Artificial Heart team from the "Gr. T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
The heart of the students from Iasi presented in the final of the HeartHackathon 2024 world competition in Japan is the smallest artificial device of this kind in the world.
"It was a 'waaaww' moment at the time of the presentation. We showed them a mannequin where there was a device for adults, but during the presentation we took out this prototype [of an artificial heart for newborns. It was an impressive elements for the jurors as well as for the rest of the students in the competition", said Otilia Pintilii, fourth-year student at the Faculty of Bioengineering.
The device, which is only a few centimeters long, was developed by MAVIS Artificial Heart students using a 3D printer and other technologies, and can be controlled using a mobile app.
"A newborn needs about two liters of blood per minute. At the center of the device we have a motor that electromagnetically levitates right in the blood. It has a cylindrical shape. At the end of the cylinders we have two pumps, the right pump and the left pump, which form this device that is the heart itself. The device is mounted in the place of the patient's ventricles, and then this motor is set in motion by a subcutaneous component. That is, this component will set the motor in motion and that will receive energy from the outside not to use cables that pass through the patient's skin, because they are the causes of many infections. We decided to do wireless energy transfer, like you would charge a wireless phone applications that can be installed on the phone, but also on the computer", explained Robert Gatman, fourth-year student at the Faculty of Bioengineering. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniela Malache, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - editor: Bogdan Gabaroi)
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