Oct-04-15
A foam heart inspired by soft robotics could one day be a viable replacement for the real thing.
Developed by a team from Cornell University, the heart is made out of a single piece of flexible, porous silicon wrapped in a solid coating of plastic. Since the silicon foam is naturally porous, air can flow through it and cause the heart to beat in the same way blood does when it flows through the vessels—which allows for a much simpler design than current artificial hearts. Air and fluid are pushed through the heart using a bio-safe external pump.
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