Forum Archive Index - October 2001

["Jeremy" <jeremy@electrosilk.net>]

>From G Stolwyk

> Normally, there are two related risks encountered by a
> patient wearing any " Artificial heart " device:

> (A)The number of moving parts and the corresponding
> longevity of the device. The MMD's, unlike the others,
> has only one moving part and therefore is long lasting.
>It is a revolutionary device!

> (B): The degree of destruction of blood platelets
> and the consequential creation of blood clots,
> a real worry for patients and surgeons alike!

There is a third you have missed.  Premature death.

And a fourth?  What is the point of performing the procedure if there is no
heart available for transplant within the following month?

Given the third risk, It is a statistical fact that a significant percentage
of patients will die within a short period of the operation.  It will be of
no basis for claim that the patient gave 'informed consent' to the
operation.  What will be of interest is whether the manufacturers and
surgeons created a safe product and whether the patient's  life expectancy
was improved by the procedure.

Given your average litiguous America, how long do you think it will be
before the relatives of a patient fitted with an artificial heart will sue
the surgeon when the patient dies?

The risks on investing in this product are simply that to get adequate
insurance cover it will be prohibitively expensive and hence have a tiny
market to begin with.

Given the fourth risk  Your figures assume that the market is the 800,000
odd people with heart problems,  It isn't. It is the few, a very few,
hundreds of people who have a live heart awaiting them in the near future.
The remaining people - those who *might* benefit from a boost for a few
months - will not be able to afford the unit because of the major risks (and
insurance expense) of putting a foreign object into their body.

The point I am making is that it *may* be a technical improvement over
existing units, but if you are looking at windfall gains and major income
from 800,000 unit sales you are sadly deluded.

>>>> Telemetry & "PDA"

These technologies have been present in the marketplace for a number of
years.  There is nothing innovative about them and it will come down to who
has the best foothold in the market and the most marketing clout.  A small
Australian based organisation hasn't a hope against existing entrenched
players.

All in all I see another ITC in the making - somewhat like a phantom
pregnancy -  all the external indications look good at the start, but it'll
never deliver.

Jeremy




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