# Backpack Blood-Pumping Devices The Freedom Driver Lets Heart Failure Patients Go About Their Lives By Rahul Kalvapalle | Published 2015-01-13 | Tech Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/freedom-driver References: [gizmag](http://www.gizmag.com/mobile-pump-artificial-heart-transplant-home/35581/) & [umcvc.org](http://www.umcvc.org/news/archive/201501/patient-leaves-university-michigan-hospital-without-human) The Freedom Driver is a device that keeps patients' artificial heart pumping while they await organ transplants. It has currently been fitted to Stan Larkin, a patient at the [University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/uci). Whereas heart failure patients are normally confined to bed by a massive device that keeps blood pumping through their veins, the Freedom Driver allows them to go about their normal lives while they wait for a transplant. The Freedom Driver delivers compressed air into the heart ventricles via a pair of tubes.Weighing only 13 pounds, it fits comfortable inside a purpose-built backpack and performs the same functions as the 418-pound machine that patients are more accustomed to. Patients like Larkin who meet certain discharge criteria are allowed to go home with their portable device while they await a heart transplant. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.4/10 - Popularity: 10% | Activity: 23% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Tech](https://www.trendhunter.com/tech) > [Science](https://www.trendhunter.com/science) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Wearable Medical Devices:** The development of backpack blood-pumping devices opens up opportunities for wearable medical devices that allow patients with chronic conditions to maintain their normal lives. - **Disruptive Healthcare Technologies:** The Freedom Driver represents a disruptive innovation in healthcare technologies, providing a more portable and convenient solution for heart failure patients awaiting organ transplants. - **Patient Mobility Solutions:** The advent of backpack blood-pumping devices creates a demand for patient mobility solutions that empower individuals to continue their everyday activities without being confined to a hospital bed. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Medical Devices:** The backpack blood-pumping device falls within the medical device industry, presenting opportunities for companies to develop and manufacture innovative devices for heart failure and other conditions. - **Healthcare:** The healthcare industry can leverage the advancements in backpack blood-pumping devices to improve patient outcomes and enhance patient experience by integrating such technologies into their treatment protocols. - **Organ Transplantation:** The Freedom Driver's impact on organ transplantation prompts the organ transplant industry to consider how this technology can optimize patient care and potentially increase the number of successful transplants. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Recovery-Optimizing Medical Devices](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lung-resection-surgery.md) - [Leadless Pacemaker Systems](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/pacemaker-system.md) - [Portable Defibrillators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portable-defibrillator.md) - [Automated Pressure Relief Devices](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/flipcare.md) - [Wearable Robotic Medical Technology](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/als-medical-technology.md) - [Synthetic Fiber Heart Valves](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wyss-institute.md) - [Wearable Ultrasound Patches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wearable-ultrasound.md) - [Backpack Car Fridges](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/litheli-frozenpack.md) - [Portable Trail-Ready Exoskeletons](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hypershell-omega.md)