A beating heart you can program

Every year, surgeons operate on diseased heart valves without being able to rehearse on a model that behaves like the real thing.

UNSW Sydney just built one.

A soft robotic heart with artificial muscles, silicone chambers, and working valves that leak, prolapse, and fail exactly like human disease.

Powered by hydraulic pressure. Compatible with ultrasound imaging.

They also tested a surgical catheter inside it.

The goal is to create patient-specific models that enable surgeons to plan procedures before the first incision.

Source: News Medical