Advances in Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine

Medical Devices and Artificial Organs

Improved health care has resulted in an increased life span for the general population and, when coupled with a growing shortage of donor organs, makes it clear that organ assistance and substitution devices will play a larger role in managing patients with end-stage disease by providing a bridge to recovery or transplantation. (In the U.S. alone, the annual need for organ replacement therapies increases by about 10 percent each year.)The good news is that the field of medical device and artificial organ development is redefining what is believed to be possible for augmenting or replacing organ function.