What is Berlin Heart?

What is Berlin Heart?
Berlin heart is an artificial heart.
An artificial heart is a device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to
permanently replace the heart in case heart transplantation is impossible. Although other similar inventions preceded it going back to the late 1940s, the first artificial heart to be successfully implanted in a human was the Jarvik-7, designed by Robert Jarvik and implemented in 1982.

More about artificial hearts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart

But how Berlin Heart works?
The Berlin Heart is not totally implanted inside the body. Physicians insert cannulas, or flexible tubes, in the heart and they extend through the skin and connect to a small pump located outside the body. That pump, along with its computerized drive unit, maintains blood flow. The device improves their circulation and keeps them alive until they receive a heart transplant. In some rare instances, patients recover enough to come off the device and maintain blood flow on their own.

Berlin  Heart Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) has been used in more than 1,000 pediatric cases worldwide. Without the assistance of the device, some children awaiting a transplant would become increasingly sick as their heart failed.
The Berlin Heart improves the chances of survival for children of all ages as compared to ECMO support.

Sources and further reading:
http://www.texaschildrensblog.org/2012/08/unprecedented-study-shows-berlin-heart-device-provides-lifesaving-bridge-for-young-children-and-babies/
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/DeviceApprovalsandClearances/Recently-ApprovedDevices/ucm302715.htm
Image via Texas Children's Blog