HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $4.1 million grant to the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (THI at SLEH) to determine the effect of pulseless blood flow on bodily functions. This knowledge will be used in the development of a total artificial heart (TAH) that produces continuous, pulseless blood flow. The new TAH will be an important advance over current heart replacement devices. It will be more durable (lasting for at least 10 years without needing replacement), and its small size will allow it to be implanted in small adults. Current artificial hearts fit only very large adults.
