A team of scientists have designed a proof of concept artificial aorta.

The team at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed this model in the hope that it could reduce the need for patients having to undergo heart transplants after they have suffered irreversible damage to the aorta from a heart attack.  

According to an article on New Atlas, the artificial aorta is comprised of a set of electrodes and a silicon tube. It’s powered by electrical voltage and was tested on a replica of the human circulatory system. The tests showed that the model reduced the usual energy required by the heart by 5.5%. 

With it being the heart’s main artery, the aorta’s role is crucial and elasticity is important for it when it swells and contracts to send blood around our bodies. To take the strain out of a damaged aorta, this proof of concept model takes up the roles of swelling and contracting and is designed to be placed just behind the aortic valve. 

“The advantage of our system is that it reduces the pressure on a patient’s heart. The idea isn’t to replace the heart, but to assist it,” said Yoan Civet, who is an author of the study.