title: The quest for a solution. We must continue. We must push forward. The 16th Hastings Lecture.
abstract: The development of an artificial heart and heart assist devices has been ongoing for several decades. Great progress has been achieved leading to the safe and effective support of patients with end stage cardiac disease. Although patients can now live at home with a high quality of life, much work is left to be done. With the majority of technical problems behind us, we must now overcome the economic, regulatory, and acceptance barriers. We must continue, we must push forward to make these systems available for our fellow human beings.
authors.affiliation: Thermo Cardiosystems Inc., Woburn, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Poirier
mesh_terms: D006354:Heart, Artificial; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans