Artificial organ

An artificial organ is an engineered device or tissue that is implanted or integrated into a human — interfacing with living tissue — to replace a natural organ, to duplicate or augment a specific function or functions so the patient may return to a normal life as soon as possible. The replaced function does not have to be related to life support, but it often is. For example, replacement bones and joints, such as those found in hip replacements, could also be considered artificial organs. An artificial organ is an engineered device or tissue that is implanted or integrated into a human — interfacing with living tissue — to replace a natural organ, to duplicate or augment a specific function or functions so the patient may return to a normal life as soon as possible. The replaced function does not have to be related to life support, but it often is. For example, replacement bones and joints, such as those found in hip replacements, could also be considered artificial organs. Implied by definition, is that the device must not be continuously tethered to a stationary power supply or other stationary resources such as filters or chemical processing units. (Periodic rapid recharging of batteries, refilling of chemicals, and/or cleaning/replacing of filters would exclude a device from being called an artificial organ.) Thus, a dialysis machine, while a very successful and critically important life support device that almost completely replaces the duties of a kidney, is not an artificial organ. Constructing and installing artificial organs, an extremely research-intensive and expensive process initially, may entail many years of ongoing maintenance services not needed by a natural organ.: The use of any artificial organ by humans is almost always preceded by extensive experiments with animals. Initial testing in humans is frequently limited to those either already facing death or who have exhausted every other treatment possibility. Artificial arms and legs, or prosthetics, are intended to restore a degree of normal function to amputees. Mechanical devices that allow amputees to walk again or continue to use two hands have probably been in use since ancient times, the most notable one being the simple peg leg. Since then, the development of artificial limbs has progressed rapidly. New plastics and other materials, such as carbon fiber have allowed artificial limbs to become stronger and lighter, limiting the amount of extra energy necessary to operate the limb. Additional materials have allowed artificial limbs to look much more realistic. Prostheses can roughly be categorized as upper- and lower-extremity and can take many shapes and sizes. New advances in artificial limbs include additional levels of integration with the human body. Electrodes can be placed into nervous tissue, and the body can be trained to control the prosthesis. This technology has been used in both animals and humans. The prosthetic can be controlled by the brain using a direct implant or implant into various muscles. The two main methods for replacing bladder function involve either redirecting urine flow or replacing the bladder in situ. Standard methods for replacing the bladder involve fashioning a bladder-like pouch from intestinal tissue. As of 2017 methods to grow bladders using stem cells had been attempted in clinical research but this procedure was not part of medicine.