Development of the Artificial Heart
Actual belief in the possibility of technology being used to create an artificial heart began in the 1950’s, soon after the successful implementation of a dialysis machine. With the ability to put a man on the moon, there was an general feeling that anything was possible.
Thus, in 1964 the United States Government put $581,000 towards the establishment of a research program to develop a total artificial heart (TAH). (Caplan pg.30).
The first viable mechanical heart was the Jarvik-7, which could keep animals alive for eight months. (Caplan pg.34). After much persuasion the FDA approved the implantation of the Jarvik-7 into human test subjects suffering from terminal heart disease. The first recipient of the Jarvik-7 was Barney Clark, on December 1, 1982. He survived on the mechanical heart for 112 days. However, during that time he suffered severe medical complications. He underwent three additional surgeries, on several occasions asked that the heart be deactivated, and went into a coma before finally dying. (Caplan pg.35).
The second patient, William Schroeder, who received a Jarvik-7 on November 25, 1984, survived for 620 days before dying. He too was plagued by medical complications throughout those 620 days. On the nineteenth day he suffered a stroke and again, on the 94th day. From the 150th day onward he had subacute bacterial endocarditis. He suffered two more strokes, on day 163 and 352. A liver biopsy on the 444th day showed microabscesses. On the 590th day he was given a feeding gastrostomy, and a tracheostomy followed on day 612. Finally he died of respiratory failure, and sepsis. (Fox pg.126).
After a few more trial implantations, which all followed same downhill course, the FDA withdrew the permission to implant any more TAH’s. From this point onward the research focused more on devices to assist the heart, rather than replace it. These devices were designed to take some of the stress off of the left ventricle of the heart, and were termed left ventricular assist devices or LVAD’s.
The use of LVAD’s became more common throughout the 1990’s as a method of either resting the heart so that it could recuperate and continue on its own or prolonging the heart’s life until a donor heart became available.
Medtronic (Minneapolis) and Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, California) are not strangers to patent lawsuits. Edwards is specializing in the production of artificial heart valves and new hemodynamic monitoring technology, whereas Medtronic is specializing in the production of medical devices. In the past, the two companies have had problems in patent infringement lawsuits over annuloplasty procedures and endovascular grafts (1,2). However, the latest patent infringement lawsuit has been filed and reported between Medtronic and Edwards Lifesciences. Edwards claimed that it has prior intellectual property rights in the new transcatheter aortic valve technology.
“US Markets for Heart Valves.” SAGE Sourcebook of Modern Biomedical Devices: Business Environments, 2007. 21 April 2011.
First of all we need to understand the type of technology this device represents. Is this a sustaining innovation? Or is this a completely new disruptive product? After fully understanding this aspect we can make better decisions regarding the future of the firm and its product. This device offers many benefits that current products do not. As explained earlier, this device is extremely portable, offering emergency rooms the flexibility and convenience they seek to provide patients with the best treatment possible. Likewise, this product will come in at a price point much lower than current echocardiographies, further separ...
The Crusades have been a heated and debated topic for centuries. The main reason the crusades started was because of religious factors and the promise of indulgences by going to the Holy Land and defending all of Christendom from the infidels (p. 102). This brings us to a second point which is, the personal gain for Christians in the East and an expansion of economic and territory to the East (p. 111). Christians wanted to take back the Holy Land from the Moslems and reclaim it for Christendom. The crusades affected Christian Medieval Europe on every fiber, but were the Christians crusades motivated by religious factors or by bloodlust and plunder?
What I wanted to talk about today is this life save device called a automated external defibrillator. It has become the number one way to resuscitate a person who has had a cardiac arrest unwitnessed by emergency medical services and who is still in persistent ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. Many people have played a big role in creating this device to become more efficient, smaller and easier to use for the general public. Here are just to name a few that played a part in the creation for this device: Claude Beck, James Rand, Paul Zoll, and Frank Pantridge. The first use of a defibrillator on a patient was in 1947 on a 14 year old boy. Claude Beck was performing a open-chest surgery when the boy went into fibrillation. Beck manually massaged his heart for 45 minutes until the arrival of the defibrillator. The defibrillator he used during surgery was made by James Rand and had silver paddles the size of large teaspoons. In 1956, Paul Zoll performed the first successful external defibrillation with a more powerful defibrillator. A major breakthrough in emergency medicine occur in 1965. At the time a majority of coronary deaths occurred outside of the hospital setting since defibrillator required a main power source and were only available in hospitals it made them pretty much useless in saving lives outside of a hospital setting. Frank Pantridge often referred to as the Father of Emergency Medicine, made the first portable defibrillator in 1965. This device was power by a car battery and weighted approximately 70 kg (155 lbs). By 1968 he was able to create a defibrillator that was safer to use and only weighted 3 kg (6-7 lbs). It was argued that their was a possibility of misuse of the device if given to a unt...
humans have viewed the heart as more than just a physical part of the body. It
The principals of human nature force people to fight for what they believe in; therefore, defending religion is not objective to that principle in the case of the crusades. In the case of the First Crrusade many people did just that, volunteered knowing that many of them would die defending their religious beliefs. In the days of the Byzantine Empire, a person’s faith or religion determined how they would live their life. It is the nature of people to fight for what they believe in; therefore, defending ones religion is not objective to that principle as in the First Crusade. A crusade is characterized as any of the military expeditions undertaken by Christian powers in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to win the Holy Land from Muslims. The First Crusade played a vital role in Late Antiquity (Middle Ages) Europe; consequently, setting the stage for future events in European history and the preface for the Crusades to follow. The reason for the initiation of the First Crusade, how it was fought and who were involved, notable battles and generals, and how upon its finale it reshaped the Byzantine Empire.
Spanning from 1095 to 1212 C.E, the Crusades were an effort made by medieval Christians to regain their holy lands back from the Muslims. There were five crusades in total going in order from the First Crusade to the Children's Crusade. A few were effective in their own respects although these Crusades proved costly to the European Kingdoms as a result of large losses of life. This paper will explore these crusades and explain why some succeeded whereas others failed.
(Encarta “Crusades”) In addition to the efforts in the East, the Crusading movement includes other wars against Muslims, pagans, and dissident Christians and the general expansion of Christian Europe. “Originally the object of the crusade was to help the Christian Churches in the East.”(Mayer, 9) “ Also on the agenda was the peace of God, i.e. the prohibition of feuding on certain days and the immunity of certain people, places, and things.”(Mayer, 8). Basically the Crusades were an expression of militant Christianity and European expansion. They combined religious interests with worldly and military views. Christians learned to live in different cultures; they also forced something of their own thoughts and beliefs on these cultures. The Crusades strongly affected the beliefs of people at the time, and to this day they are among the most famous chapters of medieval history.
When expecting a baby, parents hope their child is born with ten tiny toes, ten little fingers, the perfect little button nose, and a smile made out of gold. Most may not think about the vital development and intricacies of their baby's heart. Once the baby is born, parent’s uncertainties may be laid to rest as technology has provided the world with multiple means of being able to detect the most miniscule of abnormalities. One of which includes the electrocardiogram as this device is able to monitor and record the electrical impulses the heart is generating. With the addition of this device, a doctor can detect abnormal rhythms in the heart. By using machines such as the electrocardiogram, examining heart murmurs, and aortic stenosis, the parent will be able to be informed and prepared for any ailments of the heart a child may develop.
Mention that, even though the Mac seems more expensive than a comparable PC, price comparisons are best made over the useful life of a system. The Mac lasts about twice as long as the PC- with continuing support. Relate that PowerPC processors run faster and more efficiently than even Intel Pentium III processors of the same clock speed: 400 MHz on a Mac is faster than 400 MHz on a PC.
...lso recommended not only for patients with dysrhythmias, but for everyone. It promotes a positive attitude, gets the blood flowing and is shown to reduce stress levels (Shea & Sears, 2008)
Windows based computers are cheaper, and more easily upgradeable than Macintosh systems. The reason for this being that Apple has exclusive rights to the hardware made specifically for their computers. Windows based system hardware is produced by literally thousands of manufacturers. This, of course, means competition, which in turn lowers prices. Macintosh systems are sold (primarily) as a whole system, meaning that the consumer ends up with what Apple has decided should be included in the system. Windows systems, however, can be built to the consumers needs, or by the consumer themselves. They could select which component would be best for them for the price they would pay for it. Most importantly, with a Windows based system consumers could select what components they wish to have based on what they might pay for them.
Do you need some motivation to get off the couch and begin exercising? Maybe you have started to work out and then stopped your work out routine so many times that you cannot keep track of the number of programs you have tried. Well you are not alone. In fact, by statistics that would make you an average American. All the same, working out for the sake of health and well-being is becoming increasingly important as we continue to learn the effects of inactivity. There are many benefits that arrive from the presence of exercise in your daily routine. Improve strength, improved cardiovascular fitness, and an improved immune system are just three of the MANY benefits that come from exercise and activity. I will tell you a little bit more about each of these three benefits and how and why they can help to benefit you.
Now I realize that the heart-sick are not always curable by a new heart or a Dacron tube.