Bionic heart breakthrough: Scientists transplant device into sheep, hope for clinical trials

Medical and engineering specialists say they are on the cusp of a breakthrough after successfully transplanting a bionic heart into a sheep.

The bionic heart was designed by Brisbane engineer Dr Daniel Timms in 2001 while he was studying at the Queensland University of Technology.

It contains a spinning disc with small blades on each side that pump blood around the body and lungs, without a traditional pulse.

The bionic heart can last at least 10 years and could help bridge the gap between patients requiring heart transplants and the number of donor hearts available.

The team, made up of Queensland and international researchers, said the device was a significant advance on other designs that were large, prone to wear, or could only pump on the left or right side.

It is expected to be ready for human trials within three years.

A crowdfunding campaign called The Common Good has been established to raise about $5 million to fast track development and clinical trials.

World-renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Billy Cohn was part of the team of 25 specialists who implanted the artificial heart in the sheep in January.

"Sheep represent the chest size of women and children," he said.

"No total artificial hearts has been small enough to fit - this device did and worked perfectly."

Professor John Fraser, from the Prince Charles Hospital at Chermside on Brisbane's northside, said the sheep was standing and eating six hours after surgery.

"This was a live and healthy sheep, walking and eating, without any pulse," he said.

"The combined surgical team from Texas, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne totally removed the heart.

"There was no native heart at all - instead there was a titanium disc spinning keeping this sheep happy and healthy."

Professor Fraser said some of the best people in the world were working on the project.

He said they were now moving towards human trials in collaboration with the Texas Heart Institute.

"This isn't research - this is revolution," Professor Fraser said.

"This is not just taking a tablet, changing blood pressure by a couple of points - we're on the brink of a medical breakthrough that will change lives."

The Heart Foundation said cardiovascular disease (CVD) was the leading cause of death in Australia, with 43,946 deaths attributed to CVD in Australia in 2012.

It said CVD killed one Australian every 12 minutes.