The heart weighs 2lb – three times the weight of a real heart – and contains bovine tissue and sensors that adapt the blood flow.
The world’s first artificial replacement heart has been transplanted into a patient.
The device, which will run for at least five years, was given to a male patient.
Medics said he was awake, talking and “responding well” yesterday after Wednesday’s operation.
The heart weighs 2lb – three times the weight of a real heart – and contains bovine tissue and sensors that adapt the blood flow.
Developed by Airbus owner EADS, it is powered by batteries worn outside the body.
If it is made widely available it is expected to cost about £150,000.
The operation took place at Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris.
Surgeon Alain Carpentier said: “It’s about giving patients a normal social life.”