Scientists have created a prototype of an artificial heart that they hope to carry out clinical trials on in the near future.
The device is designed to pump blood like a real heart and could be used to treat patients who need a transplant but who are unable to receive a suitable donor heart.
The artificial heart avoids the problem of organ rejection thanks to specially treated tissue which covers the device.
Professor Alain Carpentier, who has been working on the artificial heart for 15 years, claimed that the activity demonstrated by the artificial heart could be mistaken for that of a real organ.
However, the British Heart Foundation noted that several attempts have previously been made to develop an artificial heart that is both safe and effective.
Professor Peter Weissberg cautioned: 'Despite their early promise in laboratory experiments, most versions so far have been found not to perform as well as predicted when tried in patients.'
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