Artificial Heart

SynCardia Systems, Inc. has developed a temporary total artificial heart that gives patients needing heart transplants or needing time to recover from a heart transplant rejection an option that buys them time. The prosthetic artificial heart completely replaces the native heart, and is powered by air pressure supplied via tubing that enter through the patient's abdomen. This requires a patient to be hooked up to a power supply and air pump continuously, but SynCardia has developed the Freedom portable driver that weighs 13.5 lbs/6 kg, in the form of a backpack or shoulder bag that can be recharged through a cigarette lighter or a standard wall socket, giving the patient a level of freedom and function to their lives. Patients experiencing end-stage organ failure because of end-stage biventricular heart failure experience good recovery with the artificial heart, as well as improved physical activity tolerance. The longest a patient has lived with SynCardia's artificial heart is 1,374 days, or ~3.75 years! To date, they report 1100 implants with over 300 patient-years with implants.

http://www.syncardia.com/
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/man-s-heart-removed-and-replaced-241430.aspx