The Application of Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valves in the Polish Ventricular Assist Device: Physical and Numerical Study and First Clinical Usage

Review and reflections about pulsatile ventricular assist devices from history to future: concerning safety and low haemolysis-still needed

Since the first use of a ventricular assist device in 1963 many extracorporeal and implantable pulsatile blood pumps have been developed. After the invention of continuous flow blood pumps the implantable pulsatile pumps are not available anymore. The new rotary pumps spend a better quality of life because many of the patients can go home. Nevertheless, the extracorporeal pulsatile pumps have some advantages. They are low-cost systems, produce less haemolysis and heart-recovery can be tested easily. Pump failure is easy to realize because the pumps can be observed visually. Pump exchange can be done easily without any chirurgic surgery. As volume displacement pumps they can produce high blood pressure, so they are the only ones suitable for pediatric patients. Therefore, they are indispensable for clinical use today and in the future. In this work, nearly all pulsatile blood pumps used in clinical life are described.

Artificial Organs 2016: A Year in Review

In this Editor's Review, articles published in 2016 are organized by category and briefly summarized. We aim to provide a brief reflection of the currently available worldwide knowledge that is intended to advance and better human life while providing insight for continued application of technologies and methods of organ Replacement, Recovery, and Regeneration. As the official journal of The International Federation for Artificial Organs, The International Faculty for Artificial Organs, the International Society for Mechanical Circulatory Support, the International Society for Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support, and the Vienna International Workshop on Functional Electrical Stimulation, Artificial Organs continues in the original mission of its founders "to foster communications in the field of artificial organs on an international level." Artificial Organs continues to publish developments and clinical applications of artificial organ technologies in this broad and expanding field of organ Replacement, Recovery, and Regeneration from all over the world. We were pleased to publish our second Virtual Issue in April 2016 on "Tissue Engineering in Bone" by Professor Tsuyoshi Takato. Our first was published in 2011 titled "Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumping" by Dr. Ashraf Khir. Other peer-reviewed Special Issues this year included contributions from the 11th International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion edited by Dr. Akif Ündar and selections from the 23rd Congress of the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps edited by Dr. Bojan Biocina. We take this time also to express our gratitude to our authors for offering their work to this journal. We offer our very special thanks to our reviewers who give so generously of time and expertise to review, critique, and especially provide meaningful suggestions to the author's work whether eventually accepted or rejected. Without these excellent and dedicated reviewers the quality expected from such a journal could not be possible. We also express our special thanks to our Publisher, John Wiley & Sons for their expert attention and support in the production and marketing of Artificial Organs. We look forward to reporting further advances in the coming years.