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Maglev titanium heart inside the chest of a live patient

For the first time, the fully mechanical heart made by BiVACOR, which uses the same technology as high-speed rail lines, has been implanted inside a human being. The feat marks a major step in keeping people alive as they wait for heart transplants.

For the first time, the fully mechanical heart made by BiVACOR, which uses the same technology as high-speed rail lines, has been implanted inside a human being. The total artificial heart (TAH) was implanted as part of an early feasibility study overseen by the US Food and Drug Administration. The roughly fist-sized TAH uses a small rechargeable external controller to keep it whirring along and it is able to push through blood at the rate of 12 liters per minute, which is enough, BiVACOR says, to allow an adult male to engage in exercise.

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