World's smallest artificial heart created in Iasi

An artificial heart for newborns and children that can be controlled by a mobile app has been created by Romanian students and will be presented in two days' time at the finals of a world competition in Japan.

The 38 students from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Grigore T. Popa" in Iasi have created the world's smallest artificial heart, as well as one for adults, the parameters of which can be monitored using a mobile phone application.

The two devices are made of superior titanium-based composite materials, which give the artificial heart a lifespan of more than 90 years.

According to Radio Romania Iasi, batch coordinator Alexandru Plesoianu said that the artificial baby heart presented in Japan is entirely adapted to tiny bodies.

Alexandru Plesoianu: We will go with three artificial hearts; we will go with the heart we developed last year, for which we received the award for the most advanced design, and two new hearts, so a step forward from last year, we miniaturized the artificial heart, and in addition to the miniaturized heart for adults, we will also come with a pediatric heart, probably the smallest artificial heart in the world. First of all, there are some size differences, in the body of a newborn baby, for example, no device developed so far can fit, and therefore the heart for a child is much smaller, the size of a walnut, let us say, and there is a difference in the functioning as well. The cardiac output achieved by the adult heart is designed at 7.5 liters per minute, but it can go up to 20 liters per minute, and the infant heart is designed to deliver two liters per minute, but it can go up to five liters.

Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the European Union, and Romania has a cardiovascular disease mortality rate three times higher than the European average.

Translated by: Radu Matei