Innovations in Artificial Organs
                     INNOVATIONS IN 
ARTIFICIAL ORGANS
INTRODUCTION
Artificial organ is a technique 
implementing and integrating a man- 
made organ in place of natural organs. It 
is one of most important and essential 
innovations in health care in recent 
days. 
Source: www.annalsofrscb.ro
BREAKTHROUGH 
IN ARTIFICIAL 
ORGAN
The first real breakthrough in artificial 
organ design came in 1982, with Jarvik-
7, the first fully functioning artificial 
heart to be successfully implanted in a 
human. The medical researcher, Robert 
Jarvik, and inventor Willem Kolff are 
credited with the design of Jarvik-7.
Source: aabme.asme.org
ARTIFICIAL ORGANS 
COULD SOLVE 
TRANSPLANT 
SHORTAGES
The hope is that these cells will develop 
into a functional organ when supplied 
with appropriate growth nutrients. 
Because the cells are retrieved from the 
patients themselves, the challenges of 
organ rejection and immune response 
are bypassed.
Source: aabme.asme.org
ARTIFICIAL ORGANS 
FOR MEDICAL 
RESEARCH
San Diego-based Organovo has been at 
the forefront of commercializing 3-D 
bioprinting of tissues for medical 
research. The company has successfully 
printed patches of tissues of the liver, 
lung, heart and kidneys for use by 
research partners.
Source: aabme.asme.org
ELECTRONIC SKIN 
CAN GIVE ROBOTS 
A “HUMAN” TOUCH
Skin is the largest organ of the human 
body, and a highly complex one. 
Recreating the skin involves imparting 
the sensations of touch, pressure and 
temperature to the artificial material. 
Such an artificial skin would no doubt be 
of great value to burn victims and 
patients undergoing extensive surgery. 
Source: aabme.asme.org
ELECTRONIC SKIN 
CAN GIVE ROBOTS A 
“HUMAN” TOUCH 
CONT.
SmartCore, a project funded by the 
European Research Council and 
executed by researchers at the Graz 
University of Technology in Austria aims 
to create a material that would respond 
to varied stimuli. To achieve this, the 
team has developed a novel material 
that is lined with an array of 
nanosensors whose sensitivity far 
exceeds that of the human skin.
Source: aabme.asme.org
ARTIFICIAL WOMB 
RAISES HOPE FOR 
PREMATURE BABIES
In April 2017, researchers from the 
Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment 
at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 
announced—and published—that they 
had developed the world’s first artificial 
womb. 
Nicknamed BioBag, these “wombs” 
resemble Ziploc bags with tubes of 
amniotic fluid, oxygen, nutrients and 
blood weaving in and out. Inside the 
bags, though, the researchers managed 
to nurture fetal lambs.
Source: aabme.asme.org
ARTIFICIAL WOMB 
RAISES HOPE FOR 
PREMATURE BABIES 
CONT.
In August 2017, a similar womb was 
devised by an unrelated group: 
researchers from Women and Infants 
Research Foundation in Australia, the 
University of Western Australia, and 
Tohoku University Hospital in Japan. 
Aptly named ex-vivo uterine 
environment (EVE) therapy, it has raised 
expectations of a viable and repeatable 
womb-like environment.
Source: aabme.asme.org
CONCLUSION
The road ahead for artificial organs is 
paved by enthusiastic researchers, 
funding agencies and a collaborative 
ecosystem. However, there are also 
roadblocks in the form of ethical 
concerns, regulatory requirements, 
device cost, and safety concerns 
because of a lack of long-term clinical 
data.
Source: aabme.asme.org
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