Artificial hearts are nothing new: AbioMed implanted its first replacement heart unit in 2001, and as far back as the 1980s the considerably more cumbersome Jarvik 7 was unveiled to the public.

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The first serious attempt to build one happened in the 1980s, when Jarvik-7, made by Robert Jarvik, a surgeon at the University of Utah, captured the world's attention.

ECONOMIST: A promising new artificial heart wins regulatory approval

Almost 20 years have passed since Barney Clark lived for 112 days on the Jarvik-7 heart.

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