Artificial Organs

                 INNOVATORS AND INNOVATIONS                        

  It's hard to believe that three hundred and fifty years ago while a man was actualy pioneering the use of microscope. He was thinking about what would become of future technology today. Robert Hook was such a man. He foresaw that science would eventually lead to the creation of artificial organs and implantable devices to enchance sight, hearing, and memory.

  It was he who wrote,"By the addition of such artificial instruments and methods there may be a reparation made for mischiefs."In fact the dream of improving the human body through medical advances in technology was the central idea to the scientific enlightenment vision. Many 18th century philosophers looked for such things as drugs or devices to aid them in their pursuit. At the time such things were only looked forward to.

  As time moved forward people began to experiment more within the world of artificial organs. In 1885 the first artificial heart-lung apparatus was created my M.Von Frey and M.Gruber.This was a major innovation in synthetic technology thanks to this device and progress lives could be extended and saved from death. It did not stop there for in the 20th century J.Gibbon,Jr.performed the first successful clinical use of the heart-lung machine for cardiac surgery in Philadelphia in 1953. J. Gibbon, Jr. basically took the science of clinical surgery to the next level and did this by advancing the technology laid down by the other innovators before him.

                            Image from dobsonorgan.com

  With all of this progress modern society was formed. The first meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs was held at the Hotel Chelsea in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1955. With 67 founding members, people began to truly come together to create new innovations. In 1957 DeWall-Lillehei, created the helix reservoir disposable bubble oxygenator at the Univer  sity of Minnesota and with its use on 250 patients   it became safe and reliable for other teams worldwide. Through this disposable and safe method of bubble oxygenation people gained an effective way of distribution. 

  These were great examples of success, but since no success comes without failure an accident accrued, sadly after an attempt to implant a fabricated tubular left ventricular assist device into a patient failed in the year 1963, the pateitnt died. People make many mistakes but the ability to learn from them is what makes a truly great scientist. The failed device was later donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History by Dr.Hall. Later in 1964 the U.S created the Artificial Heart Program led by F. Hasting and later C. Dennis and J. Waston. This helped to encourage and support further research, and maybe even development into cardiac replacement devices. 

     PRESENT DEVICES AND THEIR INNOVATORS 

          ARTIFICIAL WOMB-Dr. Hung-Ching Liu

  Many people around the world have wandered if it would be possible to grow babies outside of a mothers body. This is where artificial wombs come into the picture. Scientists have actually developed prototypes made out of cells extracted from a woman's body. Dr. Hung-Ching Liu of Cornell University's Centre for reproductive Medicine and Infertility hopes to get the idea of fully artificial wombs out into the real world. However scientists have discovered some issues with this idea like the mother-child bond being in danger, and the possibility of this technology would also raise concern with human cloning.

        ARTIFICIAL STOMACH-Dr. Martin Wickham

  Just last year, sometime in November, UK scientists reported to have built an artificial stomach capable of simulating human digestion. This device is made out of sophisticated plastics and metals that can survive in the acids and enzymes of the body. It even can allow a person to vomit.

           ARTIFICIAL HEART-Abiomed Inc.

  Artificial hearts are nothing new they have been around since the 1960's when Dr. Paul Winchell first patented an artificial heart. However, the latest fully implantable heart to receive clearance from the Food and Drug Administration is the 'AbioCor'. The AbioCor features a rechargeable battery, an internal miniaturized electronics package and an external battery pack. It is able to move blood threw the lungs and to the rest of the body continuously.

           ARTIFICIAL BLOOD-Many Companies

  Artificial blood is the key to everything involving synthetic organs, without it we are lost, without it we are stuck at where we are. Now the the meaning of artificial blood is a bit confusing as biological blood performs many tasks while artificial blood performs some of them. With the increasing demand for blood across the globe, the creation of a blood substitute would be one of the biggest breakthroughs in the world of medical science. Recently researchers have started thinking of the possibility of using stem cells as a means to produce artificial blood. The US Army seems to have taken interest in the idea as well, since they gave a $750,000 grant to Dendritech. 

  Oxycyte or white blood is another synthetic pure white compound that has the ability to carry oxygen 50 times more efficiently than that of our own blood.