Just as a palladium-powered arc reactor kept the Marvel superhero Iron Man alive, a 58-year-old man in the United States was kept alive by a titanium heart.

In an unprecedented medical achievement, he became the first person in the world to receive the American revolutionary artificial heart.

Developed by medical technology company BiVACOR, the device is a titanium blood-pumper designed to completely replace the function of a failing human heart. The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) represents a significant shift from traditional artificial heart designs.

Unlike its predecessors, the TAH does not mimic the natural heartbeat. Instead, it uses a single, magnetically levitated rotor to pump blood to the lungs and the rest of the body. This innovative design eliminates the need for flexible chambers or pumping diaphragms, resulting in a more durable and compact device.

The transplant was performed at the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the culmination of a decade-long development process.

The patient, who was suffering from end-stage heart failure, received the device without any complications and it functioned effectively for eight days until a donor heart became available.

Bivacor Founder Daniel Timms expressed pride in this achievement, saying: “I am extremely proud to witness the first successful human transplant of our TAH.

“This accomplishment would not have been possible without the courage of our first patient and his family, the dedication of our team, and our expert colleagues at the Texas Heart Institute.”

The BiVACOR TAH offers several advantages over existing artificial hearts. Its compact size, which is approximately the size of a fist, makes it suitable for a wide range of patients, including most men and women. The durability of the device is enhanced by its corrosion-resistant titanium structure and the absence of mechanical wear due to the magnetically levitated rotor.

This breakthrough comes at a time when demand for heart transplants far outstrips available donor organs. With fewer than 6,000 heart transplants performed worldwide each year, artificial hearts play a vital role in prolonging and improving the quality of life of patients awaiting transplant.

The FDA has approved BiVACOR to implant its TAH in up to five patients with end-stage heart failure in 2024.

Given the success of this first transplant, additional procedures are expected in the near future, potentially paving the way for a new era in the treatment of severe heart failure.