WORLD
France's Carmat implants its first artificial heart in human
Baku, December 21 (AZERTAC). France's Carmat said on Friday it had carried out its first implant of an artificial heart that can beat for up to five years, adding that the operation had gone smoothly Reuters reports.
The implant operation was performed on Wednesday at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, the biomedical firm said in a statement. It said that the male patient was awake and talking and he was being monitored in the intensive care unit.
"We are delighted with this first implant, although it is premature to draw conclusions given that a single implant has been performed and that we are in the early postoperative phase", said Carmat's CEO, Marcello Conviti.
Heart-assistance devices have been used for decades as a temporary solution for patients awaiting transplants, but Carmat's bioprosthetic product is designed to replace the real heart over the long run, mimicking nature's work using biological materials and sensors.
It is aimed at helping the thousands of patients who die each year while awaiting a donor, and reducing the side-effects associated with transplants.
"It's about giving patients a normal social life with the least dependence on medication as possible," Alain Carpentier, surgeon and Carmat co-founder, told France 2 television.
Carmat estimates around 100,000 patients in the United States and Europe could benefit from its artificial heart, a market worth more than 16 billion euros ($22 billion).
"We already had devices of this type but they had a relatively low autonomy. This heart will allow for more movement and less clotting. The study that is starting is being very closely watched in the medical field," Patrick Nataf, head of heart surgery at Paris Bichat hospital, told BFM TV.
France's Health Minister was quick to tout the operation as a sign of the country's edge in the field of healthcare.
"This news brings great pride to France," Marisol Touraine told BFM TV. "It shows we are pioneers in healthcare, that we can invent, that we can carry an innovation that will also bring great hope to plenty of people."
Among Carmat's competitors for artificial heart implants are privately-held SynCardia Systems and Abiomed, both of the United States.
"We're very happy for them and we wish them the best in their pursuit," said a spokesman for SynCardia, whose artificial heart is the only one approved both in the United States and the European Union and has been implanted over 1,200 times.