Kunming City, Sanqing Headquarters.
Wang Dali wore plastic gloves and carefully used the tools to assemble the several parts in front of him.
Soon, an ellipsoid with a smooth surface and a pebble-like shape appeared in his palm.
Weighing it gently, I could hardly feel the weight, and it looked very light overall.
Put it on the electronic scale, and it accurately displayed the number: 90.16 grams.
Wang Dali nodded, very satisfied with the weight.
"This is a sample of an artificial heart. It took a year and finally came out."
He had mixed feelings in his heart. The drawings of this artificial heart were so complicated, layered one after another. He never expected that after it was actually built, it would be so small that he could hold it with one hand.
Wang Dali looked around, raised the artificial heart high, and solemnly announced the success of the research and development of the artificial heart.
"We have worked hard for a year and finally achieved fruitful results, overcoming the difficulty of artificial hearts."
"Look, this is the third generation permanent total artificial heart. Does it look good?"
"nice!"
"So damn pretty!"
"So beautiful!"
Thunderous applause broke out instantly, and all the employees gathered around had tears in their eyes and raised their arms and shouted.
"Then let's test it quickly."
Wang Dali waved his hand, picked up four 3 cm diameter special artificial blood vessels on the table, and carefully connected them to the artificial heart.
Then he picked up a battery pack that looked like a power bank and pressed the switch.
"Wait a minute, use wireless charging to charge the battery first."
Taking advantage of the charging time, Wang Dali quickly placed four artificial blood vessels on the heart model nearby.
This heart model is 3D printed and connected to a small water tank. The internal structure is exactly the same as a real heart. It has left and right atria, left and right ventricles, aorta, pulmonary artery and other parts. It is just made of completely transparent material and has no blood pump function. , and the blood was also replaced with a blue solution.
A few minutes later, after charging was completed, the artificial heart made a slight buzzing sound and started spontaneously.
Almost instantly, the blue solution poured into the heart model along the blood vessels.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the heart model without blinking.
The entire transparent heart quickly turned blue. Under the pumping of the artificial heart, blue liquid continued to flow in and out, forming a complete cycle.
Listening to the sound of rushing water, everyone jumped up excitedly.
"The artificial heart is ready!"
Wang Dali grinned and smiled happier than anyone else, but he calmed down immediately and tried to stay serious.
"Don't be too happy, everyone, there are still animal experiments."
"After animal testing, there will be clinical trials. In short, the road is still long. We must not take it lightly until clinical success."
"knew!"
Everyone shouted in unison and dispersed in an instant, leaving only Wang Dali alone.
He stared at the artificial heart on the table that was functioning normally, with a mesmerized expression on his face.
But before he could indulge for long, he was slapped hard on the shoulder.
"Dali, yes, you can do it. We have quietly developed a blockbuster product like the artificial heart. I will definitely take credit for your credit this time."
Lu Tingfeng came over with a happy face, put his big face in front of the heart model, stared at it for a while, and then casually asked: "How are you doing with the animal experiments and subsequent clinical trials?"
Wang Dali looked solemn and said in a deep voice: "There should be no problem. The current artificial heart technology is relatively mature, but there are some common problems that prevent it from being used for a long time. It is usually used in the transitional stage while waiting for heart matching. "
"But our products currently do not have these problems. Theoretically, they can be used until the product life expires. Of course, you also know that the lifespan of industrial products will not be too long, only about ten years at most. You will definitely need to replace it with a new one when it expires.”
Lu Tingfeng nodded and continued to ask: "What are the specific problems and how are they solved?"
Although he also has a background in science and engineering, he has been doing business for so many years. He knows a little about technology, but not too deeply. Seeing the artificial heart, the crown jewel of the medical device field, right in front of him, he suddenly changed his mind. I am a curious baby and keep asking questions.
Wang Dali pondered for a moment, organized his words, and spoke one by one.
"There are three main common problems. One is the immune response after foreign objects enter the human body. Almost all implantable devices have this problem, even heart transplants are no exception."
He stretched out his fingers, gently touched the shell of the artificial heart, and explained.
"Our products are made of metal materials on the inside and polymer protein components on the outside. They are the body's own tissues and have excellent biocompatibility. The supporting artificial blood vessel materials have also been clinically proven, so there is not much of a problem."
"The second problem, and the most serious one, is blood clots. This is also easy to understand. Artificial hearts have tubes and cavities, and blood components are very complex. Over time, many cells and garbage will be deposited in the tubes. Down, blood clots form, so most products on the market are coated with anticoagulant coatings, and patients also need to take long-term anticoagulant drugs."
"Even so, over time, blood clot problems are inevitable, and patients need frequent thoracotomy to remove blood clots, causing a lot of unnecessary pain."
"Our artificial heart has a very high flow rate in the pump, and the blood flushes the pump very fully, making it difficult to form thrombus. Moreover, biological protein materials are used in the places where the pump contacts the blood, which also has an anticoagulant effect."
"Thrombi are often accompanied by a hemolytic reaction, which is related to the way the blood flows. Foreign objects in the body will produce excessive shear force on the blood, causing the destruction of red blood cells and causing hemoglobin to enter the plasma and trigger a hemolytic reaction."
"But the power of our heart is low, and it can automatically sense and adjust the blood flow to adapt to the needs of the human body. The force will be much smaller, and it will not easily cause hemolytic reaction."
"As for the third question, that is our unique skill."
Wang Dali became more and more excited as he talked, and his cheeks flushed.
"The third problem is infection. The artificial hearts on the market are mainly monopolized by Sincardi. Their Jarvik artificial heart occupies 95% of the global market, but there has always been a problem."
"That's the problem of energy supply. Due to its large size and weight of up to 900 grams, it requires a lot of energy to operate, so their artificial heart has a wire passing through the abdomen and then connected to an external battery, using a heavy battery. The group function cannot be stopped for a moment.”
"In this way, foreign objects such as pump heads, pipelines, cables, etc. will cause infection in patients. Generally, the incidence will be high in the short term after implantation, and the incidence will drop later, reaching a peak in 6 months."
"In fact, infection is not a big problem. There are antibiotics, but when this thing encounters immunosuppressants, it is like a bomb. It is difficult to survive even if you are not lucky."
"Fortunately, our power is relatively low, only 3-5w, which is extremely suitable for the human heart's 1.5w power, so we can use wireless charging technology to minimize foreign objects implanted in the body."
"Currently we only have one heart and four tubes, which is enough. There are no messy wires and tubes. The pump heads are wrapped in biological protein materials. Foreign bodies are reduced to the lowest level in history, and the risk of infection is naturally very low. Small."
"I guess it's not that they don't want to use wireless charging, but the high power of wireless charging is not suitable. The power of their artificial heart is too high, a full 20W, and it cannot be used at all. When it is running, the sound is like a bellows, which is very loud."
"Look at how quiet our artificial heart is!"
Lu Tingfeng put his ear close to it, listened carefully, and nodded with satisfaction: "It is indeed very quiet, at least much quieter than the office air conditioner."
Wang Dali's face was red and proud: "Of course, this is the power when a person is in a static state, which is roughly equivalent to the state when you are sitting there browsing the web and watching videos. The sound is about 20 decibels, which is about the same as the sound of human breathing. .”
"If a person is sleeping or lying down, the power will automatically reduce, and the sound will be below 15 decibels, which is almost unnoticeable."
"If a person is in a low-load state, such as walking, eating, or doing daily work, then it is about 25-30 decibels, which is the size of a whisper, and it is very low."
"Only when the human brain is operating at high speed and in a high-load carrying state such as fast running, the power will soar and the sound will reach more than 40 decibels, which is equivalent to the hum of a refrigerator."
"If it is a long-lasting physical activity, the artificial heart will be loaded at full load, the power will reach the highest level, and the sound will reach 60 decibels when people are talking. Of course, long-term overloading will definitely shorten the life of the product, and it is easy to cause accidents."
"This is our fully automatic sensor-based blood flow adjustment mode, which is very advanced and far ahead."
Having said this, Wang Dali couldn't help but laugh triumphantly.
Lu Tingfeng shook his head and couldn't help pouring cold water on him.
"It seems that the mechanical artificial heart can only go so far. It can replace part of the functions of the heart to a certain extent, but the chemical and electrical functions are still not good. Overall, it is still not as complete as the biological cloned heart."
Wang Dali was silent for a while, and then he said speechlessly: "Boss, do you need to say this?"
"Which of the artificial organs can achieve chemical functions? They can only achieve part of the physical functions."
"The artificial heart gives you a pacing function to allow blood to circulate, the artificial lungs provide breathing function, and the artificial kidney also helps dialyze the blood and filter toxins and impurities in the blood."
"Some of the chemical functions of a real heart cannot be accomplished by an artificial heart. For example, cardiac endothelial cells can play an anticoagulant role and have an immune fusion function to avoid rejection. At the same time, they can also secrete atrial natriuretic peptide to increase urine output. To adjust blood volume, how can this endocrine mechanism do it?"
"As for other organs that require chemical reactions and bioelectrical reactions, let alone the liver, kidneys, digestive tract, and respiratory tract, which one can be completely replaced by machinery?"
"Don't be so demanding. If you take it step by step, your dream will always come true. Either a physicist will do it, or a chemist will do it."
Lu Tingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I'm not afraid that you will be proud and complacent. Just know it in your heart."
Wang Dali suddenly let out a long sigh and said with a melancholy look on his face: "I know it well. Only after doing the artificial heart project did I understand the greatness of biologists and why Frankenstein did what he did in science fiction movies. s Choice."
"We study physics and we can only create lifeless robots in the end. But biologists are different. They can face the true meaning of life and create real life."
"Especially the stem cell differentiation and cloning technology, if it continues to develop, it can create human tissues and organs. It is like a scientific bible. Just thinking about it makes people intoxicated and unable to extricate themselves."
“Who doesn’t want to be a creator these days?”
"Hey, I chose physics instead of chemistry when I was in college. I don't know whether it was right or wrong."
This time it was Lu Tingfeng's turn to be silent. After a while, he smiled bitterly and said, "Dali, sometimes I really envy you. You are a purely technical person and have never given up on your technical pursuits."
"Your achievements in the future will definitely be greater than mine. I have been alienated by KPI and am no longer pure. I can only follow you from now on. I hope I can go as far as possible."
"If you want to explore the true meaning of life, you should go to a biologist, chemist, or other physicist, not a professional manager who is obsessed with performance and reports."
】
Wang Dali smiled and said nothing more.
He looked at Lu Tingfeng in front of him and suddenly felt a sigh of relief. He felt that time passed so fast. In just a few years, he had grown from a newly hired soldier to a technical leader.
"It turns out that galloping on the plateau of technology will really make people lose the concept of time." He said to himself silently.
