In December 1982, doctors at the University of Utah drew global attention by performing a surgery to implant an artificial heart into a patient named Barney Clark. The procedure involved replacing Clark's failing heart with a machine designed to perform the organ's work by pumping blood.
The device used in the surgery was named the Jarvik-7, after its inventor and team member Robert Jarvik. Constructed from polyester, plastic, and aluminum, the device required connection via hoses to a 400-pound air compressor.
Barney Clark, a dentist from Seattle, Washington, underwent the seven-hour surgery on December 1, 1982. Clark agreed to the procedure despite his failing health and the low likelihood of long-term survival, motivated by a desire to help scientific progress. Following the operation, the Jarvik-7 device beat nearly 13 million times before Clark died 112 days after the surgery.
The work at the University of Utah was part of long-term research into artificial organs led by Willem Kolff, who began inventing such machines in Europe during the 1940s. Kolff joined the University of Utah in 1967 and worked with doctors at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering to develop devices intended to replace sick organs such as kidneys, lungs, and hearts.
The use of the artificial heart raised ethical questions regarding patient rights and the high costs of such medical technology. Despite the challenges Clark faced, including infections and seizures, his experience served as an inspiration for future medical research into devices that assist people with failing hearts.
