How doctors and engineers worked on the same problem

A left ventricular assist device helps the heart pump blood, but it needs a power supply. A cable passing through the skin creates additional difficulties for the patient. One line of research explored transmitting energy without this external connection.

In 2019, an international team published results from the first use of a particular system in two patients. Its co-authors included Kazakhstan doctors Yuriy Pya, Makhabbat Bekbossynova and Roman Salov. Specialists from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center and Leviticus Cardio, along with partners from other countries, also took part.

The project combined an Israeli wireless energy transmission system with an American Jarvik pump. The Kazakhstan team performed the clinical work and contributed to the scientific publication. A backup external connector was retained. It is therefore inaccurate to describe the system as entirely wireless with no external components, or to attribute its development to one country.

This was early clinical experience involving two patients; the initial assessment of the system in the 2019 publication covered day 30. It does not establish the technology’s availability today or its long-term effectiveness. The publication does, however, document cooperation that took place, including the clinical problem, the engineering solution, patient care and a joint paper.