Cardiac surgeons say the artificial heart developed at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP) could bring about a revolution in modern medicine and especially benefit patients in developing countries. So far, the number of heart transplants in India is too low, mainly because of the prohibitive cost of the imported synthetic heart.
Doctors say that when all devices like pace makers or stents fail, the only option for a heart patient is to replace the failing heart. An artificial heart
can be used either for total replacement or it can used as a parallel circuit.
"All heart ailments ultimately lead to failure of the organ. Going by the increasing number of cardiac patients, cardio vascular disease is going to assume the magnitude of an epidemic in about two decades. If this artificial heart works, it will bring about a sea change and benefit everyone from newborns to adults," said cardio vascular surgeon Shantanu Dutta of SSKM.
Though there is a demand for hearts, be they artificial or from cadavers, not many heart transplants have taken place in India. The absence of donors has limited transplants from cadavers. Moreover, the synthetic heart imported from the US is too expensive. With an estimated cost of just Rs 1 lakh, the artificial heart designed by IIT KGP can bring about a medical revolution.
"In countries like the US, artificial hearts have been used since a long time. But in poor countries like ours, patients just can't afford the cost involved. Though information on the artificial heart developed by IIT KGP is still very sketchy to me, it would be great if the device works," said cardio thoracic surgeon Dr Sushil Mitra.
Doctors who are involved with the project, however, say it will be some time before the device can be used on humans. A series of prolonged tests is yet to be conducted on animals. So far, all the tests have been for short term efficacy of the device. The entire research is being sponsored by the ministry of science and technology.
"The research is still at a very nascent stage. Before conducting a trial on humans, we must conduct tests on large animals to see how the artificial heart works on a long-term basis. Ethical and protocol issues also have to be sorted out before the test is conducted on a human body," said Dr Madhusudan Pal, head of cardio thoracic surgery at Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta. The tests on humans will be conducted in the hospital.
source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Artificial-heart-a-revolution-say-doctors/articleshow/4289681.c
Doctors say that when all devices like pace makers or stents fail, the only option for a heart patient is to replace the failing heart. An artificial heart
can be used either for total replacement or it can used as a parallel circuit."All heart ailments ultimately lead to failure of the organ. Going by the increasing number of cardiac patients, cardio vascular disease is going to assume the magnitude of an epidemic in about two decades. If this artificial heart works, it will bring about a sea change and benefit everyone from newborns to adults," said cardio vascular surgeon Shantanu Dutta of SSKM.
Though there is a demand for hearts, be they artificial or from cadavers, not many heart transplants have taken place in India. The absence of donors has limited transplants from cadavers. Moreover, the synthetic heart imported from the US is too expensive. With an estimated cost of just Rs 1 lakh, the artificial heart designed by IIT KGP can bring about a medical revolution.
"In countries like the US, artificial hearts have been used since a long time. But in poor countries like ours, patients just can't afford the cost involved. Though information on the artificial heart developed by IIT KGP is still very sketchy to me, it would be great if the device works," said cardio thoracic surgeon Dr Sushil Mitra.
Doctors who are involved with the project, however, say it will be some time before the device can be used on humans. A series of prolonged tests is yet to be conducted on animals. So far, all the tests have been for short term efficacy of the device. The entire research is being sponsored by the ministry of science and technology.
"The research is still at a very nascent stage. Before conducting a trial on humans, we must conduct tests on large animals to see how the artificial heart works on a long-term basis. Ethical and protocol issues also have to be sorted out before the test is conducted on a human body," said Dr Madhusudan Pal, head of cardio thoracic surgery at Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta. The tests on humans will be conducted in the hospital.
source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Artificial-heart-a-revolution-say-doctors/articleshow/4289681.c
No comments:
Post a Comment