AKIPRESS.COM - Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO have used material and technology used to build rockets to create a small device that pumps blood and is seen as a step towards making an artificial heart.

The Made-in-India left ventricle assist device weighs 100 gm and will help people who need heart transplants, replicating the function of a part of the heart that pumps blood.

It is being tested right now by a team of surgeons on animals and is expected to be ready for use on humans only after a few years of extensive testing. The device was recently tested on five pigs at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram for a six-hour experiment which doctors said was successful.

The device is made of biocompatible titanium alloy and can pump blood at the rate of 3 to 5 litres per minute. Similar imported heart pumps cost crores of rupees, but the ISRO version is expected to cost only Rs. 125 thousand (US$ 2 thousand).