[Video courtesy of Ellen Rouche/Harvard SEAS]
Robotic heart sleeve aids failing heart
A customizable robotic heart sleeve has demonstrated advantages over other heart assist devices such as VADs when it comes to aiding the beating of a failing heart. The soft robot, developed by Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital researchers, never comes in contact with blood, which reduces the risk of blood clotting.
The robotic sleeve has demonstrated that it can support heart function in pig hearts with acute heart failure. More research is required before the robotic sleeve can be tried in humans.
Read more about the robotic sleeve.
These breakthroughs were fascinating to hear about. I’m glad that you ended on a good note. It’s wonderful to hear that about advances that have helped us better understand heart disease and its treatment.