Monday, December 23, 2013

Artificial heart: a feat made in France - Le Monde

Professor Alain Carpentier, who designed this heart, this is primarily a result. It took him a quarter of a century that his dream a reality. Can not be too welcome merit and tenacity of the doctor, who had revolutionized his field by designing valves better tolerated by patients or by inviting the computer in the operating room. It is also a promise: even if we wait for other patients receive and tolerate this plugin a new genre to confirm its effectiveness, the way is now open

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See also: Implement an artificial heart in man: a technical feat

The history of medicine is littered with those decisive moments when pioneers take the responsibility and risk of daring. We remember the first heart transplant performed by South African Professor Christiaan Barnard in 1967. The patient, Louis Washkansky, died 18 days later of pneumonia. But since then, tens of thousands of people were saved by reprieve this type of transplant. The issue today is the same: to give a heart patient while waiting lists are growing grafts dramatically around the world

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medical challenge doubles as an industrial challenge: if the heart developed by Carmat confirms its capabilities, it is a potential market of several billion euros, which will open to him (100,000 patients in Europe and in the United States, at a cost of 160,000 euros prosthesis). Investors who bet on the listed company will have their boldness rewarded.

artificial heart Professor Carpentier is also the result of an extraordinary adventure “Made in France”. It combines a “boss” of the public hospital and a captain of industry, Jean-Luc Lagardère, CEO of Matra, who decided to support it. But also engineers and doctors who continued to work after the death of the patron. Finally business angels , public funds (33 million OSEO after European blessing) and research tax credits (5,000,000 in 2013).

Is this the recipe for raw others? In a letter to Alain Carpentier and his colleagues, François Hollande stresses that “France can be proud of this exceptional action in the service of human progress” . Legitimate pride. But a few days ago, the Academy of Sciences launched an alarm about reductions in appropriations affecting the art research. “A high-level research is the best hope for our economy,” , she concluded. The artificial heart is an example. It should not he be an exception.

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