Frenchman Fitted with Artificial Heart Making Good Progress

The 75-year-old Frenchman, who was fitted with the world's first artificial heart, is recovering well.

The artificial heart was earlier tested on animal models and can beat up to five years. The unnamed French patient is the first person to ever receive the device, Reuters reported.

"He is awake, feeding himself and talking with his family. We are thinking of getting him up on his feet soon, probably as early as this weekend," Professor Daniel Duveau, who saw the patient on Thursday, told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, according to Reuters.  

The surgery was performed by the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, France on December 18.

The device is made by Carmat, a French biomedical company. Alain Carpentier, the inventor of the artificial, self-regulating heart, said that the new device is unlike any other types of artificial hearts.

"It's a rather special kind of pump. If your loved one came through the door [and you had a Carpentier artificial heart], it would start to beat faster, just like a real one," Carpentier had earlier told The Independent.

The heart weighs about 900 grams or about 31 ounces. Microprocessors and electrical sensors in the heart monitor the body's need for blood and regulate supply, according to the Independent. The cost of the Carpentier artificial heart is about £100,000 to £135,000 (which is about $222,628). The device is suitable for about 70 percent of men and 25 percent of women awaiting a heart transplant.

According to Le Journal du Dimanche, three more patients are scheduled for the artificial heart surgery.