In December 1982, a specialized team of surgeons and researchers performed the first-ever artificial heart implant at the University of Utah Medical Center. The University of Utah was instrumental in the artificial heart’s invention, implementation, and evolution. Moreover, the surgery marked a critical moment of progress rather than ending an era of research and development.
“Utah and the Artificial Heart: Impact and Reflections Forty Years Later” draws upon print culture, conference reports, and oral histories to analyze the impact of the artificial heart on the University of Utah. Since 1982, surgeons, inventors, and researchers from the University of Utah have overcome setbacks to continue to make crucial contributions to the field.
Artificial Heart Physical Exhibition
A physical exhibition is on currently on display in the Portrait Gallery of the Eccles Health Sciences Library. Showcasing artifacts from the library’s History of the Health Sciences collection, the display includes photographs, historic documents and publications, a large-scale mosaic art piece by Ed Palubinskas, valve prototypes and an early model of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart.
Digital Publishing Group
The EHSL Digital Publishing Group contribute to research, scholarship, and the common good by collaboratively collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating, and sharing digital objects relevant to the health sciences community and professional healthcare educators worldwide.
