Dr. Robert Jarvik is familiar to millions of Americans because of his activities as front-man for Lipitor commercials on TV, but his initial celebrity came around 1980 for his part in building the first successful artificial heart.
While a teenager, Jarvik invented a new kind of surgical stapler and a few surgical tools. His father was a surgeon, yet Jarvik never intended to follow in his dad's footsteps until the older Jarvik needed open heart surgery.
Turned down for admission by several U.S. medical schools, he studied medicine in Italy.
Eventually he worked with Dutch physician Willem Kolff, who had tested prototype artificial hearts on animals as far back as 1957. With Kolff's help, Jarvik designed and built the first artificial heart intended for permanent implantation into humans, the Jarvik-7.
The Jarvik-7 was tested in 1982 on a volunteer, terminally ill dentist Barney Clark. The operation was led by famed heart surgeon William Devries. The patient lived for 112 days and was considered a success.
In 1988, Jarvik also came out with the Jarvik 2000, a device designed not to replace the human heart, but to assist its function.
In 1969, Dr. Denton Cooley had implanted another type of artificial heart designed for temporary use. The patient lasted for three days after the operation.
Since the Barney Clark surgery, Jarvik's invention has been used with considerable success.
Shown below is TV commentator Rush Limbaugh bloviating in defense of Dr. Jarvik, who was under fire for his work in Lipitor commercials.
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