We are pleased to announce the addition of the Terumo Collection to our Virtual Collections. The Akutsu and Kolff collection of artificial hearts is stored at Terumo Medical Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. Terumo is a global leader in medical technology and has been committed to “Contributing to Society through Healthcare” for 100 years. Based in Tokyo and operating globally, Terumo employs more than 30,000 associates worldwide to provide innovative medical solutions in more than 160 countries and regions. The company started as a Japanese thermometer manufacturer, and has been supporting healthcare ever since. Now, its extensive business portfolio ranges from vascular intervention and cardio-surgical solutions, blood transfusion and cell therapy technology, to medical products essential for daily clinical practice such as transfusion systems, diabetes care, and peritoneal dialysis treatments. Terumo will further strive to be of value to patients, medical professionals, and society at large.
The Akutsu and Kolff collection has about 100 items and has the following characteristics:
- The collection includes important artificial hearts in history from the first artificial heart implanted in a dog in the world (1958) to artificial hearts implanted in patients for a bridge to transplantation (second case, 1981) and for permanent use (first case, 1982).
- The collection includes almost all types of artificial hearts developed by Dr. Tetsuzo Akutsu and Dr. Willem Kolff (who are called fathers of artificial organs and artificial hearts).
- The collection includes molds and casts of artificial hearts as well as artificial hearts. We can understand how artificial hearts were fabricated.
- We can learn the whole history of artificial hearts by viewing the Akutsu and Kolff Collection.
We are especially grateful to Dr. Yoshi Mitamura and the Terumo Team headed by Ms. Tomoko Manabe, DVM, for putting together this Collection for our use.
We welcome the support of the artificial organ and transplant community to provide information to our website (www.icaot.org). We would welcome in particular contributions to our Milestones and Virtual Museum. Milestones are accepted after peer review. The Virtual Museum is intended to display artifacts that companies, individuals, and organizations have and are not on public display or known or available so that researchers, historians, or archivists might avail themselves to such in their work. The medical fields of artificial organs and transplantation have accomplished so much in the past decades and have given a better life to so many worldwide that we should recognize their accomplishments and those that made it possible. These fields offer promise for many in the future to provide them a full life.
Also, we continue to look for a permanent site for our Artificial Organ Collection. The history and on-going developments in the fields of artificial organs and transplantation have made and will continue to make major contributions to medical science and the lives of millions worldwide. Only serious inquiries should respond.
Link to the article: Artificial Organ Museum looking for a new home:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aor.14112
Paul S. Malchesky, D.Eng.
President, International Center for Artificial Organs & Transplantation (ICAOT)
paulsmalchesky@aol.com