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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Charles Okeke a Human with an Artificial Heart

Charles Okeke's heart in a bag

Charles Okeke, 43 years old man from Phoenix, Arizona, United States, never thought would be the first human who called a "human with the artificial heart".

Nickname that has been gained along two years recently, he got after his body refused the existence of transplanted heart since his age of 30 years. Since then, the life of Okeke depend on the a machines weighing 181 kg.

For about two years, he must stay in Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix, because he must always be close to the machine about the size of washing machines, which play a role to supply the bloods throughout the body.

Charles Okeke's heart Fortunately, a medical device companies, SynCardia succeeded in create an artificial heart of the world's smallest, and named it Total Artificial Heart. Government agencies for food and drugs has just approved the use of these tools, and Okeke became the first human who use a portable device, and can be taken anywhere, with weight of approximately 6 kg.

The size of this artificial heart could be much smaller than previous devices because the sensors were used also shrinking.

The portable artificial heart sold by SynCardia price of U.S. $ 125,000 with maintenance fee of U.S. $ 18,000 per year. Powered by a battery, and equipped with four valves, this tool replaces the role of the heart ventricles to pumps bloods to the various other organs such as liver and kidneys.

Because Total Artificial Heart, now Okeke able to leave the hospital and back home which he had left for two years. He can move more freely, blessing the artificial heart that able to carry anywhere in the backpack.

Okeke indeed still must train hard to maintain his fitness, while still waiting for the heart from the donor to be transplanted into his body. However as long as he has not found a suitable heart, doctors allow him to use this portable artificial heart, until the time is unlimited.

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