Specialists at North Carolina State University has developed an innovative machine that makes an animal heart pump much like a live heart after it has been removed from the animal’s body, allowing experts to speed up the growth of new tools and techniques for heart surgical procedure. The mechanism saves experts time and money and give them the possibility to test and treat their technologies in a practical surgical environment, without the price and time connected with animal or clinical trials.

Pigs have heart valves that are anatomically similar to human heart valves so that most medical device prototypes designed for use in heart surgery are tested on live pigs. Though, these tests are both expensive and lengthy, and engross a long-lasting consent procedure to make sure that the use of live animals is essential. Experts at NC State have developed a “dynamic heart system” – a mechanism that pumps fluid through a pig heart so that it functions in a very practical way. Specialists can get pig hearts from a pork processing ability and use the scheme to test their prototypes or follow new surgical procedures. The computer-controlled machine, which operates using pressurized saline solution, as well let experts to film the interior workings of the pumping heart – enabling them to ascertain precisely which surgical technologies and techniques perform best for repairing heart valves.

By using the machine, researchers can establish if concepts for new surgical tools are viable before evaluating them on live animals. They can also identify and address any functional problems with new technological tools. Using this structure could also save experts a great deal of money. Once the machine is purchased and set up, the cost of running experiments is orders of magnitude less costly than using live animals. It costs around $25 to run a research on the machine, while an alike experiment using a live animal costs approximately $2,500.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health funded the improvement of the heart machine.