AnonTechie writes:
"Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis have developed a new device that may one day help prevent heart attacks. Unlike existing pacemakers and implantable defibrillators that are one-size-fits-all, the new device is a thin, elastic membrane designed to stretch over the heart like a custom-made glove and may arrive to human hearts in 10 to 15 years.
They custom made it to precisely fit the shape of the rabbit's heart: First, while the rabbit was still alive, they scanned it and created a 3D model using computer aided tomography. They manufactured the model in a 3D printer, which they used as a mold to create the membrane. After that they took the heart out, applied the membrane, and kept it beating at a perfect pace.
(Score: 1) by efitton on Monday March 03 2014, @11:55PM
My father had a triple bypass this last December. The take out the heart. Obviously they keep it all hooked up, etc. but the actual heart is taken out of the chest. End of the procedure they wash out the body cavity and put it back in. I imagine that this type of procedure would be similar in terms of lower the body temp, crack open the chest, etc.
Anyhow, pretty amazing.