Millions globally suffer from heart failure – but worldwide only 8,000 patients annually receive a heart transplant due to organ shortage. To address and describe the current technological shift in treating heart failure, the French-German public service network ARTE TV has produced a documentary illustrating the potential role of total artificial hearts in the future of heart failure treatment. The documentary features a visit to Realheart and showcases one of the company’s preclinical implantation procedures. Additionally, Realheart^® TAH is demonstrated in the lab, highlighting its unique adaptive pressure system and the patient-friendly controller that is under development.

Further, the documentary includes an interview with the first female patient implanted with the only approved system in the EU. This interview highlights the possibilities of improving the sound level and external powering of currently approved artificial heart devices. Among the professionals who demonstrate and comment on the Realheart system are Dr. Thomas Finocchiaro, CTO of Realheart, and Dr. Dilek Gürsoy, M.D. and board-certified heart surgeon at the private cardiac surgery clinics Mönchengladbach and Clinic Bel Etage, who has first-hand experience of implanting Realheart^® TAH.

“Realheart^® TAH is the only total artificial heart device in the world that mimics the structure and physiology of the natural human heart. Its mechanical construction makes it silent, and as a result of collaborations with patients and healthcare personnel, we have developed a patient-friendly monitoring unit that provides an easy overview for its users. We are very happy to have been given the opportunity to showcase our unique system to viewers around Europe,” says Ina Laura Perkins, CEO, Realheart.

The documentary is available for public viewing: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/117722-000-A/ein-herz-auf-bestellung/