Illustration of a new total artificial heart. It replaces the two heart ventricles linked to the two original auricles. These ventricles are filled with a hydraulic fluid pumped by two mechanical valves, which recreates the normal working of the ventricles. The right ventricle pumps CO2-filled blood towards the lungs in order to oxygenate the blood, the left ventricle pumps oxygen-rich blood through the body. The prosthesis in the thorax is linked to two batteries outside the body by a tube that exits in the patientÆs abdomen.
