Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-02-21
Artificial Heart, Lungs
For Humans Probable
Two Types Of Such Systems
Successful With Animals
By Thomas R. Henry

Successful With Animals
By Thomas r. Henry
Artificial hearts and lungs for human
beings are probable soon.
Two types Of complete heart-lung sys-
tens already have proved quite success
full with small animals. and the day is
near at hand when the first tests with
humans will be justified.
This is announced by the American
Heart Association as the outstanding
research development in its field dur
ing the past year.
The mechanical hearts and lungs
would be expected to function only a
short time and are devised so that the
heart especially. can be completely i'm
modified during surgery.
1.-The future cure or treatment Of
patients with congenital defects or ac-
quired diseases Of the heart and blood
vessels" says the report, ''rests to a
large degree on developments in heart
surgery. in the opinion Of many au-
thorities. Heart operations also gain
increasing Importance because OF war
injuries and the lodging Of foreign:
bodies in the heart.
feet a mechanical heart-lung apparatus
to take over the duties of heart and
lungs for brief period to permit the
surgeon to operate on an inactive heart.
Two such experiments, financed by the
American Heart Association, have proved
successful when applied to small ami
mails"
Mechanical Heart-Lung.
One of these research projects is be-
ing conducted by Drs. Leland c. Clark
and Frank Gollan at Antioch College,
Yellow Springs, Ohio. Another type Of
mechanical heart-lung is being de-
veloped by Dr. Joseph NJ Miller at the
Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Los Angeles.
There Is every reason to expect such
successful results. it is indicated, as
have been achieved by the recently de-
veloped artificial kidney which can per-
form all the functions of the human
kidney for hours at time, thus sub
shutting for the weakened organ. 1t
has saved many lives in emergencies.
and now is being used to study changes
in kidney function in normal and dis
eased conditions.
When heart valves become damaged,
usually as result of rheumatic fever.
they do not open and close normally.
This interferes with the flow Of blood.
In an effort to correct such conditions
by surgery one research team, the as
ISOLATION reports has been developing
plastic heart valves which can be in
serted to replace diseased valves. The
technique now has been perfected In
dogs.
More than half the million square
miles of the United States and its terri
tories remains inadequately mapped IN
terms of modern requirements.
This is revealed by Gerald Fitzgerald.
president of the American Congress on
Surveying and Mapping. The deficiency
is due largely, he told the Canadian
Institute of Surveying and Photograph
metry the other day, to the higher stand
ards which have been set during and
since the war. Few of the old maps.
entirely adequate in their day, meet
these standards.
The job might be Unfortunately expen-
sive, Mr. Fitzgerald indicated, except for
the postwar development Of new tech
niques and instruments.
Mapping by Helicopter.
Perhaps of greatest Importance is the
helicopter for mapping Alaska and parts
of the Western United States It makes
possible the rapid transportation Of
surveying parties to the tops Of noun
tains and other difficult locations which
are exceptionally good station sites.
Formerly they could be reached only by
days of wearisome foot journeys. In
Alaska, Mr.. Fitzgerald said, this has
speeded the rate of map-making at least
15-fold.
One of the most difficult jobs of the
Government map-maker is the fixing Of
reasonably precise attitudes over large
areas. This is being overcome largely
by new development-the so-called
"leap-frog method" By this device a
series of simultaneous readings of two
precision altimeters, one serving as
standard, are made at desired points
along a route.
Electronic devices, such as the shoran,
which were developed for quite different
purposes during the war, have been
adapted to surveying. Up to the present
they have been confined largely to
Alaska.
Many bugs" must be eliminated, Mr..
Fitzgerald said, before the electronic
methods can be applied on a wide scale
where extreme precision is necessary.
Far-reaching developments also are I'M
der way, he explained, in the making Of
maps from air photos. This promises
to become easier and considerably more
accurate.