DANVERS, Mass., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Abiomed said Tuesday it has received U.S. approval for AbioCor, the first self-contained, implantable artificial heart.
The device is designed for patients experiencing bi-ventricular heart failure, or heart failure that affects both sides of the heart.
The AbioCor "may allow patients more time at home, without wires or tubes piercing through their skin," and gives patients receiving the device complete mobility and remote diagnostics, the company said.
Chronic heart failure claims about 57,000 lives in the United States each year, Abiomed said, quoting statistics from the American Heart Association.
Approximately 2,200 donor hearts are transplanted into heart failure patients annually, the company said, but the AbioCor artificial heart offers another alternative to patients who are not candidates for a donor transplant, such as those of advanced age or who have organ failure or cancer.
