Can you believe this is the first artificial heart in history?

The device named "Mayo-Gibbon heart-lung machine" in the picture is one of the most famous devices in the early development of artificial hearts. It was developed by American doctor John Gibbon in the 1940s and later improved by doctors from the Mayo Clinic in the United States. It is reported that the Mayo-Gibbon heart-lung machine can temporarily replace the patient's heart to deliver blood throughout the body until the patient's own heart recovers.

Although modern scientists and researchers are still committed to developing the most suitable artificial heart, there is no doubt that the 1950s and 60s were the heyday of artificial heart development. When we raised this question, Chernicoff explained: "The scientific field is increasingly gaining attention, and people hope to acquire more scientific knowledge. Someone even said, 'If we can send humans to the moon, then we must be able to create an artificial heart.'"

Now, this Mayo-Gibbon heart-lung machine is preserved in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington. Notably, the museum has recently provided an online viewing function to allow those who cannot personally visit Washington to enjoy it virtually.