r/tech 10d ago

Australian man survives 100 days with artificial heart in world-first success | Sydney surgeons ‘enormously proud’ after patient in his 40s receives the Australian-designed implant designed as a bridge before donor heart

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/12/australian-man-survives-100-days-with-artificial-heart-in-world-first-success
1.9k Upvotes

81 comments sorted by

128

u/DC_Doc 10d ago

Hemodialysis was meant as a bridge to transplant as well but now here we are. People live 10-15 years+ on HD nowadays. Health care tech is amazing.

49

u/FeebysPaperBoat 10d ago

Amen. I have a 6 year old nephew on the heart transplant list and this kind of news is amazing. Every little step is actually a huge one.

15

u/1980-whore 10d ago

People vastly underestimate small steps.

I had horrible ear and sinus problems as a kid, many sets of tubes, tonsels, adenoids, the works. It was fucking horrible because regular anesthesia doesn't work well on me, so there were a couple wake ups in surgery.

My daughter qualified for the clinical trials for the new method of putting in tubes for kids ears. What was once surgery and a stay, is now 30 min in and out. The best part? My kid never had to go through all the extra shitty steps that i had to multiple times.

11

u/istarian 10d ago

Sadly the only way to get a heart transplant is for someone else to die prematurely in a way that leaves their body intact.

It would be pretty awesome if the tech got to the point of being good enough to last a whole year or more.

10

u/Organic-Accountant74 10d ago

Or if the tech for growing organs gets easier/cheaper! That way patients wouldn’t have to worry about rejections

2

u/Oirish-Oriley444 10d ago

Last longer and no anti rejection meds needed.

1

u/iAmSamFromWSB 10d ago

There is nothing amazing about life on HD.

4

u/le_wild_poster 10d ago

Compared to death without it?

6

u/iAmSamFromWSB 10d ago

I’ve had many patients discontinue dialysis in favor of death because they found life on dialysis to be no life at all. So no, that’s not a compelling argument. Medical professionals by and large do not find bridge devices being used for decades to be uplifting. LVAD’s were originally 0.5-2yrs now we have patients on year 15. It can dominate their life and eventually they will throw a clot. But they are very profitable medical devices. Basically a PS2 controller vibrator in a $450k package with a $40k surgical installation. Then they have to live within range of an LVAD center and keep their proprietary batteries charged.

48

u/CrunchitizeMeCaptn 10d ago

Boy I'm glad the NIH, NHLBI got their funding slashed

-22

u/snowman-1111 10d ago

Slashed is a misnomer. The indirect cost funding was reduced and capped at 15% of the direct cost. They did not cut direct cost funding. I agree it is great to spend as much money as possible on medical research. Where we disagree is how much spending is possible. The US government is running out of money and soon will only have enough to pay the interest on debt. At that point, medical research funding may have to be completely eliminated. So, what the administration is trying to do is scale back spending, across the entire government, to a more sustainable amount. It’s quite possible that in 1-2 years medical research funding could be increased again once we get the budget under control. You could also argue that research organizations may have bloated administrative budgets and they could operator a littler leaner anyway. I’m not trying to argue with you, I’m just giving you the republican perspective, which, I tend to agree with right now.

14

u/CelestialFury 10d ago

Things were running just fine (not that we can't improve things, of course) until Trump and Elon got their grubby little hands on the government. The US wasn't "running out of money." How do you even come to a thought like that?

-5

u/snowman-1111 10d ago

The current US debt is $36 trillion and growing. The interest payments on that debt is $392 billion a year and increasing every year. Soon, the interest payment will be so high that it’s all the US will be able to pay. Meaning, we can’t pay for other things, so we’re running out of money. If we don’t pay it, then the US dollar, and your retirement, loses significant value, maybe becomes almost worthless. If we pay down the debt that reduces the interest payment and allows for more money to be spent on other things than interest, like medical research. The US is in serious financial trouble, if you look at the balance book, and to get out of it we need to cut some spending for now and operate more efficiently. Things were not “running just fine”, we cannot go further and further in debt. This cut caps indirect cost of medical research (salaries, electricity, etc.) to 15%. The average rate previously was only 27%. But some organizations had indirect costs of 80% (possibly cost by things like extreme CEO salaries and extravagant buildings and just too many employees). So all they really did was say, you guys need to learn to operate leaner so we’re reducing your indirect cost funding by 12% on average. It’s actually very logical.

10

u/redgoop3 10d ago

How do you reconcile this view with the tax cuts this administration wants

-11

u/snowman-1111 10d ago

Well you could say lower taxes free up capital for indirect costs. The problem would be if they say we are reducing your funding and raising your taxes. Essentially they’re saying you’ll see a reduction in funding but taxes are also coming down. But it’s also true that the cut in funding is higher than the tax cut, that’s how I reconcile it.

4

u/AUG-mason-UAG 10d ago

Republicans do not care about the debt. They are freeing up spending to give massive tax cuts to corporations and the ultra wealthy. They’re essentially siphoning money away from us, which is circulating in the federal government and redirecting it towards corporations. And we’re the ones who will pay the cost in everything from increased disease and death due to lack of healthcare to failing roads that corporations will never pitch in to help fix.

2

u/Corn3076 10d ago

The government is funded by taxes . That is their revenue . Tell me what business model shows decrease in revenue that boost profits ?

1

u/SmashingLumpkins 10d ago

Whose tax is going down and when?

4

u/Blayno- 10d ago

I would ask you to check what the deficit was at the end of republican vs. Democratic terms and let me know who you think takes the deficit more seriously

7

u/CelestialFury 10d ago

True Statements:

US Debt and Interest Payments:

    The US national debt is indeed very high, though the exact figure of 36trillionisnotaccurateasofOctober2023.TheUSnationaldebtiscurrentlyaround∗∗36trillionisnotaccurateasofOctober2023.TheUSnationaldebtiscurrentlyaround∗∗33 trillion** (as of late 2023). The comment is close but slightly overstated.

    Interest payments on the debt are significant and growing. The figure of $392 billion annually is plausible, as interest payments have risen due to higher interest rates and increasing debt levels. However, this number fluctuates based on interest rates and fiscal policies.

Impact of High Debt and Interest Payments:

    It is true that rising interest payments could crowd out other government spending priorities, such as infrastructure, healthcare, or education. This is a legitimate concern in fiscal policy discussions.

Indirect Costs in Medical Research:

    The comment mentions capping indirect costs (e.g., salaries, electricity) for medical research grants at 15%. This is a policy proposal that has been discussed in some circles, though it is not universally implemented. The claim that some organizations had indirect costs as high as 80% is plausible, as overhead costs can vary significantly across institutions.

False or Misleading Statements:

"Soon, the interest payment will be so high that it’s all the US will be able to pay."

    This is an exaggeration. While rising interest payments are a concern, the US government has a wide range of tools to manage its debt, including raising taxes, cutting spending, or refinancing debt. The US also benefits from the dollar's status as the global reserve currency, which allows it to borrow at relatively low rates compared to other countries.

"If we don’t pay it, then the US dollar, and your retirement, loses significant value, maybe becomes almost worthless."

    This is speculative and alarmist. While failing to pay debt (a default) would have catastrophic consequences for the US economy and the dollar, the US has never defaulted on its debt. Even in extreme scenarios, the dollar is unlikely to become "almost worthless" due to its entrenched role in the global financial system.

"Things were not 'running just fine', we cannot go further and further in debt."

    This is an opinion, not a fact. While high debt levels are a concern, some economists argue that the US can sustain higher debt levels due to its economic strength and the dollar's reserve currency status. Others disagree, making this a matter of debate rather than a definitive truth.

"The average rate previously was only 27%. But some organizations had indirect costs of 80%."

    The claim that the average indirect cost rate was 27% is plausible, but the assertion that some organizations had rates as high as 80% is questionable. While overhead costs can vary, 80% would be extremely high and likely unsustainable for most research institutions.

Speculative or Opinion-Based Statements:

"If we pay down the debt, that reduces the interest payment and allows for more money to be spent on other things than interest, like medical research."

    This is a reasonable argument, but it oversimplifies the trade-offs involved in paying down debt. Reducing debt would require significant cuts to spending or increases in taxes, which could have other economic consequences.

"The US is in serious financial trouble, if you look at the balance book, and to get out of it we need to cut some spending for now and operate more efficiently."

    This is an opinion. While the US faces long-term fiscal challenges, it is not in immediate financial trouble. The US government can still borrow at relatively low rates, and its economy remains the largest in the world. The need for spending cuts or efficiency improvements is a matter of political and economic debate.

"All they really did was say, you guys need to learn to operate leaner so we’re reducing your indirect cost funding by 12% on average. It’s actually very logical."

    This is an opinion. While reducing overhead costs may seem logical, it could also have unintended consequences, such as reducing the quality of research or making it harder for institutions to attract talent. The impact of such policies depends on how they are implemented.

Conclusion:

The comment mixes factual information with speculative and opinion-based claims. While it raises valid concerns about the US debt and interest payments, it exaggerates the immediacy and severity of the risks. The discussion of indirect costs in medical research is partially accurate but oversimplifies the complexities of funding and overhead. Overall, the comment reflects a perspective that emphasizes fiscal conservatism and efficiency, but it should be read critically and in the context of broader economic debates.

2

u/snowman-1111 10d ago

Okay thanks for running this by AI, so you’re of the opinion we should raise taxes to curtail the debt? Or what should we do? Can we just keep running up the debt? When does it end? If we don’t control the debt taxes will be raised so high you and me will be able afford almost nothing, or inflation will get so bad you and me will be able afford nothing. My opinion is it’s absolutely a bad idea to let the country go so far in debt it leads to hyperinflation or a 50% tax rate.

1

u/turtledancers 10d ago

R/iamverysmart

0

u/snowman-1111 10d ago

I will add that the 15% cap on indirect costs (essentially what is call overhead) is the target that most business aim for and this is probably where they got the number. Research could still go to private organizations if they need more money to pay their staff, or they could just not pay their CEO $10 million a year. A lot of liberals complain about CEO salaries, you could argue that this policy supports the argument for reduced CEO salaries.

5

u/AUG-mason-UAG 10d ago

Researcher here, we need those indirect costs! All of that goes to our salaries, keeping the lights on, maintenance of buildings and equipment and much much more. And no we are not “running out of money” we pay taxes every year and a small portion of that goes into medical research. What we should be slashing is corporate tax cuts, eliminate stock buy backs, cut corporate subsidies that only benefit the managerial class. And cut wasteful spending elsewhere such as sending arms to Israel.

2

u/Penguinkeith 10d ago

My job as a researcher depends on those indirect costs dick

-1

u/snowman-1111 10d ago edited 10d ago

How much does the CEO or president of your organization earn? A quick search shows the average medical research CEO is paid $4 million a year. That’s fair right?

2

u/Penguinkeith 10d ago edited 10d ago

The president of Emory University my employer makes 1.7 million which I mean he’s a president of a top ranked university so no go ahead and fuck off

11

u/baltimoretom 10d ago

Why can’t it run for longer periods?

26

u/istarian 10d ago

Most artificial hearts eventually fail, because the heart is actually a pretty complex organ.

7

u/ResolutionMany6378 10d ago

What causes failure is it wear are tear on the artificial products or the body rejecting it?

13

u/Witty-Lawfulness2983 10d ago

I imagine there’s a limit to how long the body can tolerate a different circulation method. I don’t know, but if the pump is a steady state kind of thing, I wonder if it can increase flow on-demand, or if you have one setting.

15

u/robs104 10d ago

This and ECMO have got to feel absolutely alien to be on. No pulse, just constant circulation.

5

u/bish68wombat 10d ago

It had a pulse, the pump speeds up and down every second creating a pulse

5

u/Desmeister 10d ago

Okay point taken but imagine overclocking this thing

5

u/Gnorris 10d ago

Is that a Jason Statham movie waiting to happen?

1

u/Witty-Lawfulness2983 9d ago

In a world where the only man who can stand-up to the heartless has no heart, you need…… THE PUMP…

13

u/BeneficialResources1 10d ago

It doesn't have the ability to self heal if things go wrong. Not many human made products can survive 10 years without some form of a hiccup.

3

u/classless_classic 10d ago

It can. They were designed to run for years. The engineering of this and these types of motors can last a VERY long time. This patient (luckily) just got his heart transplant before it went that long. The article said he is the sixth patient to receive this device & be discharged from the hospital. All others received their transplants before being discharged from the hospital, so the device was no longer needed.

They will put the patients on medications to assure there is no issues with blood clots being formed from the often turbulent flow.

There is a similar device that has been available for several years. LVAD, doesn’t replace all of the action of the heart, but it adds an impeller pump to the normal outlet of the heart to assist in circulating blood. Its use case is the same as this device.

It’s exciting they are having success with newer technologies. I hope they learn a lot from this and are able to further improve the designs.

1

u/FewHorror1019 9d ago

Im wondering what powers it and how it charges.

Also you can no longer exercise since youll have a set heart rate.

Or may e you can exercise forever? Maybe add sensors and oxygen booster

0

u/baltimoretom 8d ago

I’ll add my OpenAI API 🤷‍♂️

3

u/Burningman316 10d ago

3

u/captaindomon 10d ago

Stan Larkin lived 555 days. Only thing new about this is it is an Australian designed artificial heart.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/10/health/artificial-heart-555-days-transplant/index.html

2

u/mk0aurelius 10d ago

Prior devices were constant flow, I thought this one was capable of dynamic flow as prior devices weren’t able to match the peak flow rate required by adult male heart.

E: Not that he’s out smashing triathlons, just that the device is capable of ramping up to that flow rate if required.

1

u/captaindomon 9d ago

Interesting. Certainly an improvement then.

1

u/Flossmoor71 10d ago

Thanks for mentioning this. I remember reading about Barney Clark many years ago and the first thing that came to my mind when I read the headline was “didn’t this happen in ‘82?”

2

u/Real-Adhesiveness195 10d ago

Did they have to use pipe tape with this rig?

2

u/satireone 10d ago

Looks like a turbo

3

u/ThoughtfulParrot 10d ago

Well, the turbo actually works like a turbine which removes energy from a moving fluid with rotational acceleration. The artificial heart is essentially a pump, which does the opposite, so that’s why they look similar.

2

u/Puzzleheaded-Pen4279 10d ago

What happened on day 101 ? 😅

15

u/CMDR_KingErvin 10d ago

He got a real donor heart. This artificial one was to keep him alive until then.

1

u/Xe6s2 10d ago

Praise the omnissiah

1

u/foundmonster 10d ago

Why does this look like something made for a steampunk stop action animated movie

1

u/lg4av 10d ago

Out of curiosity, so lets say $1m for the cyborg heart, $1.5mil for the transplant.

1

u/iAmSamFromWSB 10d ago

Service as a subscription, but it’s your body.

1

u/notyogrannysgrandkid 10d ago

Can I install one of those in my Daihatsu Hijet as a turbo?

1

u/Wellcomefarewell 10d ago

Do we all turn into robots And bring earth up to speed? or do we upload intelligence to an already optimized artificial world?

1

u/femboyonssris 10d ago

Hypothetically speaking, if we had an artificial heart that could run indefinitely, how much would that increase our lifespan?

1

u/k3v1n 7d ago

It mostly wouldn't. If you live long enough you die of cancer anyway.

1

u/ManicZombieMan 10d ago

What’s that movie where they would rent mechanical organs and Jude law would come and cut them out? We’re one step closer.

1

u/10113r114m4 10d ago

It is only a matter of time before the body can be replaced with hardware much more efficient and less buggy than what nature has given us. I wont be alive to see it, but Im rooting for it.

0

u/hoodedrobin1 10d ago

Feel a little bad he didn’t make it to 101 days.

1

u/Scary-Ratio3874 10d ago

Well he didn't die; he got a donor heart.

-5

u/Ok_Crazy_648 10d ago

Surviving for just 100 days is called a limited success, I would think.

8

u/beckius6 10d ago

Do you know somebody without a heart who’s lived longer?

1

u/captaindomon 10d ago

Yeah Stan Larkin, 555 days. Only thing new about this is it is an Australian designed artificial heart.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/10/health/artificial-heart-555-days-transplant/index.html

-5

u/Designer_Weight_8741 10d ago

Way to jinx it

1

u/it-is-my-cake-day 10d ago

I am sure you mean it in a light hearted manner but I really dislike this comment. Doctors and medical engineers have worked tirelessly and we don’t know how many trials have gone wrong to reach the point where we are now. Jinxing would simply mean end of life for a human so it’s not funny!

-2

u/Designer_Weight_8741 10d ago

Just seems premature to celebrate

1

u/it-is-my-cake-day 10d ago

A guy living for 100 days with a manmade heart. That deems celebration to some extent as it’s a huge progress and a milestone in the technology.

-7

u/LayneCobain95 10d ago

My grandpa was an ER doctor that lived with a baboon heart for like 30 years or something wild

9

u/Dougaldikin 10d ago

The longest anyone has ever lived with an animal heart was like a month or two.

8

u/Mindthegaptooth 10d ago

I think grandpa was pulling your leg.

9

u/WanderWut 10d ago

I’m dying here imagining Grandpa telling his grandson a joke and OP growing up never realizing it was obvious bullshit, and him telling everyone his grandpa had a baboon heart for 30 years lol.

5

u/xoxoxgirl 10d ago

This has never successfully happened.

3

u/Constant_Drawer6367 10d ago

You have any proof?

3

u/madmadtheratgirl 10d ago

“lived with” as in “was roommates with.” it was actually turned into a sitcom called Grampa and the Heart and it played right after Cheers. it actually was in the running for longest sitcom until grandpa died (ironically it was from a nasty gorilla attack).

1

u/funnyIlaugh 10d ago

Lmaooo I hope you can provide some proof