Artificial heart research
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute awards three contracts for development of a total artificial heart and for evaluation of its compatibility with body tissues. Three teams -- Abiomed and the Texas Heart Institute; Nimbus, Inc. and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation; and Pennsylvania State University and Sarns/3M Health Care -- will each receive between $5 mil. and $6 mil. over a three-year Phase I period. The University of Utah, one of the NHLBI developers until now ("The Gray Sheet, May 25, 1992, I&W-8), did not receive additional funding. NHLBI says the two most promising artificial hearts will be selected to proceed to Phase II, for which funding would range between $8 mil. and $9 mil. over four years.