August 22, 2001

6:59 AM

But "the biggest thing," he said, "is not having a heartbeat."
posted by tweebiscuit (20 comments total)

no-reg link: http://archive.nytimes.com/2001/08/22/health/anatomy/22HEAR.html
posted by smaugy at 7:13 AM on August 22, 2001

freaky.
posted by adampsyche at 7:18 AM on August 22, 2001

Needless to say, I was expecting Dick Cheney at the other end of that link.
posted by dong_resin at 7:18 AM on August 22, 2001

*rimshot*
posted by tweebiscuit at 7:26 AM on August 22, 2001

that's ever so cool.

reminds me of the commercial from the movie robocop: "you pick the heart!"

imagine in another 20 to 30 years what other organs might be replaced to stave off imminent death.
posted by bwg at 7:26 AM on August 22, 2001

maybe this guy can get a robodick.

maybe with voice-activated controls and other features.
posted by adampsyche at 7:37 AM on August 22, 2001

Oh, that's so creepy and weird! Hearing this constant whir coming from your chest?

Then again, medical things give me the heebie-jeebies in a big way. *cringe*
posted by solistrato at 7:45 AM on August 22, 2001

I'm pulling for him. Hopefully, he'll gain enough strength to receive a transplant. It is sad that he felt the need to dispel rumors that he is being used as a guinea pig since he is black. Distrust of the medical establishment runs deep in many segments of the African-American community, and hesitancy to seek out preventive care contributes to higher rates of illness and lower life expectancy.
posted by gimli at 7:50 AM on August 22, 2001

I've always wondered: why can't we decentralize the heart? Just scatter a few smaller peristaltic pumps along the major arteries/veins and power them all independently. Hey presto, no more single point of failure!
posted by aramaic at 8:02 AM on August 22, 2001

I think not having a heartbeat is damn cool. Forget "first man with artificial heart" -- he's "first man WITH NO HEARTBEAT!" I'd be a lot prouder of that.
posted by tweebiscuit at 8:21 AM on August 22, 2001

Eh. There are a lot of people who don't have heartbeats. This guy has the distinction of still being alive.
posted by kindall at 9:51 AM on August 22, 2001

...

Well, DUH. ;)
posted by tweebiscuit at 10:03 AM on August 22, 2001

Funny, that was not the pull-quote on the 11 o'clock news last night, it was the bit about how the whirring let him know he was alive...
posted by rschram at 10:08 AM on August 22, 2001

Instead, the device makes a constant whir, which he hears at night while trying to sleep.

I'm picturing the sound that the cars in the Jetson's make.
posted by fooljay at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2001

"Dude....the new Daft Punk?"

"Whu.........that's my heart, you jackass."
posted by dong_resin at 11:21 AM on August 22, 2001

FADE IN: GRAVEYARD

SALLY: Eddie! Whats that noise? It sounds...like...
(High pitched violin noises)
W-w-whirring!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Coming soon to a theater near you:
Attack of the Evil Underground Robot Heart Monster!
posted by fuq at 5:15 PM on August 22, 2001

Mechanical hearts.
Cloning.
Wireless access to computers anywhere in the world (802.11, internet).

We live in the friggin' future.
posted by owillis at 5:33 PM on August 22, 2001

We live in the friggin' future.

I don't.
posted by Option1 at 11:46 PM on August 22, 2001

It's not the future until they get that fembot thing all worked out.
posted by dong_resin at 2:54 AM on August 23, 2001

And the flying cars. But we've already discussed that...
posted by fooljay at 11:11 AM on August 23, 2001