This story puts a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart *zing* because both Price and I are graduates of the NC State College of Engineering. Andrew Richards, a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering, has created a system to simulate the actual beating of a pig’s heart outside of the body. Note this does not mean the heart is beating on its own, just that the mechanics can now be observed free from a body.

The computer-controlled machine, which operates using pressurized saline solution, also allows researchers to film the interior workings of the pumping heart – enabling them to ascertain exactly which surgical technologies and techniques perform best for repairing heart valves.

None of that shit really matters. What matters is that there’s this awesome video of a beating pig’s heart in a tray.

Machine Keeps Heart Beating Outside of Body [via Neatorama]

Tags: closer, nc state, nin, pig's heart

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.