Demikhov's "Mechanical Heart": The Circumstances Surrounding Creation of the World's First Implantable Total Artificial Heart in 1937.
The world's first implantable total artificial heart was designed by Vladimir Demikhov as a fourth year biology student in Voronezh, Soviet Union, in 1937. As a prototype of his device, Demikhov must have used an apparatus for extracorporeal blood circulation invented by Sergei Bryukhonenko of Moscow. The device was the size of a dog's native heart and consisted of two diaphragm pumps brought into motion by an electric motor. A dog with an implanted device lived for 2.5 hours. In addition to having the prototype, the preconditions for Demikhov's artificial heart creation were his manual dexterity, expertise in animal physiology, and his mechanistic worldview.
From the *Bakulev Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery, Moscow, Russia; and †Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
Sergey P
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Glyantsev
Vakhtang
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Tchantchaleishvili
Leo A
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Bockeria
D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation / Q000266:history*; D006354:Heart, Artificial / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D014586:USSR