A sheep implanted with a new type of artificial heart developed by Chinese scientists using cutting edge aerospace technology has lived for 62 days thus far.
The heart has been developed jointly by the scientists of China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital in north China's Tianjin Municipality, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
The sheep, nicknamed "Tianjiu," is in sound condition after receiving the blood pump on March 14, Liu Xiaocheng, president of the hospital said on Monday.
He said researchers used magnetic suspension and hydrodynamic bearings - both borrowed from the aerospace industry - to design and produce an implantable third-generation ventricular assist device (VAD), a mechanical pump that mimics heart's function.
China began research on VAD in the early 1980s. But the technology is yet to be tried on humans.
Once the device is marketed, it may end suffering for the 16 million people in China waiting for a heart transplant, the report said.
