Electrohydraulic artificial heart
date: label: date made
content: 1977-10-28
name: label: maker
content: Kolff Laboratory
notes: label: Description
content: This electrohydraulic artificial heart is an early prototype for the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. The left and right chambers of the heart are connected with Velcro©. The electrohydrolic heart was featured on the cover of LIFE Magazine, September 1981 proclaiming, “The Artificial Heart Is Here.”
label: Description
content: The electrohydraulic heart has only one moving part, the reversible impeller or turbine. Blood does not go through the impeller, therefore there is not supposed to a concern with blood damage. Numerous scientists and engineers worked on the development of the artificial heart, but it was Robert Jarvik, M.D. in the Kolff laboratory who changed the TAH from a sphere to an elliptical shape allowing it to fit more easily into the chest cavity. Jarvik also added a third and fourth bladder to each ventricle creating more flexibility and durability. The addition of two extra rubber bellows allowed for more vigerous blood flow. His improvements allowed the correct amount of blood 100cc's, to circulate through the body. Jarvik also experimented with materials using polyurethane Biomar to create surfaces inside the housing which prevented blood thrombosis or clotting.
label: Description
content: The first implantation of a Jarvik-7 Total Artificial Heart occurred December 1982. The TAH was implanted in Barney Clark by Dr. William DeVries at the University of Utah Medical Center. The highly publicized artificial heart operations brought attention to the triumphs of scientific technology its limitations,and its costs, both literal and figurative.
place: label: place made
content: United States: Utah, Salt Lake City
topic: label: Subject
content: Cardiology
label: Subject
content: Artificial Organs
label: Subject
content: Medicine
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Artificial Hearts
label: Exhibition
content: Inventing In America
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Kolff, Willem J., M.D. et al.. Electrohydraulic-Clamshell Heart with Energy Converter Inside the Compliance Reservoir
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Willim J. Kolff, M.D.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1998.0035.169
label: accession number
content: 1998.0035
label: catalog number
content: 1998.0035.169
objectType: label: Object Name
content: heart, artificial
label: Object Name
content: artificial heart, electrohydraulic
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: salastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: dacron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: velcro (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 6 1/2 in; 12.7 cm x 16.51 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 in x 7 1/4 in x 7 3/4 in; 10.16 cm x 18.415 cm x 19.685 cm