The Freedom Driver Lets Heart Failure Patients Go About Their Lives
Rahul Kalvapalle — January 13, 2015 — Tech
The Freedom Driver is a device that keeps patients' artificial heart pumping while they await organ transplants. It has currently been fitted to Stan Larkin, a patient at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center. Whereas heart failure patients are normally confined to bed by a massive device that keeps blood pumping through their veins, the Freedom Driver allows them to go about their normal lives while they wait for a transplant.
The Freedom Driver delivers compressed air into the heart ventricles via a pair of tubes.Weighing only 13 pounds, it fits comfortable inside a purpose-built backpack and performs the same functions as the 418-pound machine that patients are more accustomed to.
Patients like Larkin who meet certain discharge criteria are allowed to go home with their portable device while they await a heart transplant.
The Freedom Driver delivers compressed air into the heart ventricles via a pair of tubes.Weighing only 13 pounds, it fits comfortable inside a purpose-built backpack and performs the same functions as the 418-pound machine that patients are more accustomed to.
Patients like Larkin who meet certain discharge criteria are allowed to go home with their portable device while they await a heart transplant.
Trend Themes
1. Wearable Medical Devices - The development of backpack blood-pumping devices opens up opportunities for wearable medical devices that allow patients with chronic conditions to maintain their normal lives.
2. Disruptive Healthcare Technologies - The Freedom Driver represents a disruptive innovation in healthcare technologies, providing a more portable and convenient solution for heart failure patients awaiting organ transplants.
3. Patient Mobility Solutions - The advent of backpack blood-pumping devices creates a demand for patient mobility solutions that empower individuals to continue their everyday activities without being confined to a hospital bed.
Industry Implications
1. Medical Devices - The backpack blood-pumping device falls within the medical device industry, presenting opportunities for companies to develop and manufacture innovative devices for heart failure and other conditions.
2. Healthcare - The healthcare industry can leverage the advancements in backpack blood-pumping devices to improve patient outcomes and enhance patient experience by integrating such technologies into their treatment protocols.
3. Organ Transplantation - The Freedom Driver's impact on organ transplantation prompts the organ transplant industry to consider how this technology can optimize patient care and potentially increase the number of successful transplants.
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