Dr Daniel Timms invented the world's first durable, total artificial heart – the BiVACOR titanium heart – which is currently being tested for trials in patients.
When Daniel’s father died of heart failure, the then PhD student worked obsessively on a solution to assist people with failing hearts. According to one professor, Daniel went without a salary for a year and couch surfed to meet his goal.
Daniel’s invention is being seen as the basis for future artificial heart design – and a viable alternative to heart transplants.
The small titanium machine has a single moving part – a tiny rotor held in place by magnets – which should make it extremely durable and a possible long-term replacement for a human heart.
Two decades on from when he started work on an artificial heart, Daniel is chief technology officer of his company BiVACOR. He continues to collaborate with leading researchers, surgeons and scientists globally developing other devices.