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Yes, with this device, there is no pulse.

Do they do something unrelated to the function of pumping blood, just to make the patient feel a heartbeat for comfort?

I dont know for sure but the doctors were on TV in Houston a few months ago and IIRC they said no pulse.

They did mention that one has been running continuously for two years in vitro, and the idea is for it to be reliable enough to eventually implant permanently in some situations.

As a correction I saw some updated info where they say a pulse is definitely created by this device, so I must not have heard the brief TV mention accurately.

I think what impresses me a lot is a smoother-running machine :)

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