The artificial heart pump, a product previously only made by the U.S., Germany, and Japan, has been finally produced for the first time in Turkey following an 11-year study.
Turkey is the fourth country in this regard
In the Clinical Simulation and Advanced Endoscopic / Robotic Surgery Training departments at Acibadem University – CASE (Center of Advanced Simulation and Education), if the operation ends with success, Turkey will be one of the four countries producing artificial heart pumps.
The project has been carried out by Ismail Lazoglu, Director of Manufacturing and Automation Research Center at Koc University, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering; in collaboration with Prof. Suha Kucukaksu from Bahcesehir University Cardiovascular Surgery
Limited number of countries with production capability
The surgery, in which nearly 20 doctors participated, is carried out successfully as expected. The artificial heart pump, which is inserted into the heart of a pig, has passed the necessary test. Dr. Ismail Lazoglu explained his work with the following words; “I want to encourage Turkish students to pursue a PhD in high-tech jobs. Our PhD students Basar (Aka) and Caglar (Ozturk) have made great efforts for 4 years. The laboratory tests of our most recently developed system carried out with blood donated by our PhD students were flawless. Cardiac support systems require advanced technology. The number of countries able to produce these systems are very limited. Only the USA, Japan and Germany have this technology. A gigantic level of responsiveness is required from design to production. There is an average of 5 liters of blood in the body. If you can not turn it in uniform conditions, you will turn it into slime in 5 minutes. When Turkey develops the technology to produce it, the system can be exported to many countries. I, Prof Suha and Basar and Caglar filed 4 joint patent applications. There are several companies that we talk to from the industry. We prefer to produce the pump with a local company.”
Turkey’s first Intrabodily Miniature Artificial Heart Pump System Development Project was also deemed worthy of an award by the Turkish Machinery Exporters Association, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey (KOSGEB), Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and the Ministry of Economy.