Atomic Artifical Heart
date: label: date made
content: 1962-1964
name: label: maker
content: Akutsu, Tetsuzo
notes: label: Description
content: This is one side of an artificial heart made to be used with a drive system developed at NASA's Lewis Research Center (the John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field) for Dr.Willem Kolff in the Department of Artificial Organs at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio. The heart was driven with air, and used electric coils as transducers. The drive system regulated and provided air to the ventricles.
label: Description
content: The heart is a rounded U-shape with two openings at the top for artificial ball heart valves. It is of made of silicone, and has layered Dacron netting for strength. At the front of the heart are two tubes which connect to the drive system. On the opposite side from the tube, there is a system of wires and coils implanted into the wall of the heart. Wires extend from top of the heart and connect to the coil system. No pumping membranes or valves are present. There are three prongs inside one of the blood openings, that shows where valve would be positioned.
label: Description
content: This artificial heart was made by Tetsuzo Akutsu (1922-2007), and was one of the earliest (1962-1964) to be developed in Kolff's laboratory. Experiments with dogs lasting approximately twenty-four hours demonstrated the feasibility of this design, however, several problems including thrombosis and emboli were a serious complication.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Ohio, Cleveland
topic: label: Subject
content: Cardiology
label: Subject
content: Surgery
label: Subject
content: Health Care
label: Subject
content: Artificial Organs
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
label: See more items in
content: Artificial Hearts
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Hiller, Kirby W.; et al.. An Electronic-Mechanical Control for an Intrathoracic Artificial Heart
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Willem J. Kolff, M.D.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1998.0035.040.02
label: catalog number
content: 1998.0035.040
label: accession number
content: 1998.0035
objectType: label: Object Name
content: artificial heart
label: Object Name
content: heart, artificial
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silicone (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: dacron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in x 3 in; 13.97 cm x 6.985 cm x 7.62 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 3/8 in x 3 5/8 in x 7 1/2 in; 8.5725 cm x 9.2075 cm x 19.05 cm