Why this Houston medical device innovator is pumped up for the first total artificial heart

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 248

Dr. William Cohn is the chief medical officer for BiVACOR, a medical device company creating the first total artificial heart. Photo via TMC

It's hard to understate the impact Dr. William Cohn has had on cardiovascular health as a surgeon at the Texas Heart Institute or on health care innovation as the director of the Center for Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center. However, his role as chief medical officer of BiVACOR might be his most significant contribution to health care yet.

The company's Total Artificial Heart is unlike any cardiovascular device that's existed, Cohn explains on the Houston Innovators Podcast. While most devices are used temporarily for patients awaiting a heart transplant, BiVACOR's TAH has the potential to be a permanent solution for the 200,000 patients who die of heart failure annually. Last year, only around 4,000 patients were able to receive heart transplants.

"Artificial hearts historically have had bladders that ejected and filled 144,000 times a day. They work great for temporary support, but no one is suggesting they are permanent devices," Cohn says on the show.

The difference with BiVACOR's device is it abandons the bladder approach. Cohn explains that as assist pumps evolved — something his colleague, Dr. Bud Frasier, had a huge impact on — they featured new turbine and rotor technology. Daniel Timms, BiVACOR's founder and CTO, iterated on this technology beginning when he was a postdoctoral student at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

"BiVACOR is the first artificial heart that leverages what we learned from that whole period — it has no bladders, it has no valves. It has one moving part, and that moving part is suspended in an electromagnetic field controlled by a computer and changed thousands of times a second," Cohn says. "It will never wear out, and that's why we think it's the world's first total artificial heart."

The company is seeing momentum, celebrating its first successful human implantation last month. The device was used for eight days on a patient at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center before the patient received a heart transplant.

Cohn says that BiVACOR has plans to use the TAH as "bridge-to-transplant" device in several other surgeries and expects to get FDA approval for that purpose in the next three to four years before working toward clearance for total artificial heart transplants.

Cohn has worked to support medical device startups at CDI at TMC for the seven years it has existed — first under Johnson and Johnson and then under TMC when it took the program over. He describes the center and its location as the ideal place for developing the future of health care, with Houston rising up to compete with regions known for medical device success — both coasts and Minnesota.

"Being in the shadow of the largest medical center on the planet — 106,000 employees show up there every 24 hours," Cohn says, "if you want to innovate, this is the place to do it."

From Your Site Articles
Revisiting a conversation with Dr. Joseph Rogers, president and CEO of the Texas Heart Institute, on the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo via texasheart.org

Play it back: How this Houstonian is leading heart health innovation

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 246

Heart health innovation is at a major moment in history — and Houston is at the center of it.

Last summer, Dr. Joseph Rogers, president and CEO of the Houston-based Texas Heart Institute, joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to share how he came to be at the helm of THI, as well as the incredible technologies the institute is working on to address heart failure, a global epidemic affecting at least 26 million people worldwide, 6.2 million adults in the U.S.

This month, one of THI’s technologies reached a major milestone. BiVACOR, a Houston company successfully implanted the company's first Total Artificial Heart in a human. The device was implanted in the patient on July 9. Eight days later, a donor heart became available and was transplanted into the patient, removing the TAH, establishing the device as a successful bridge-to-heart-transplant solution for patients, THI reported.

In addition to this breakthrough in health tech, THI is focused on addressing Cardiometabolic Syndrome at a new conference on Friday, August 23, in Houston. The full-day symposium will take place in collaboration with Arianna Huffington, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global. Dr. Rogers is co-directing the program with Dr. Stephanie Coulter, medical director for THI Center for Women’s Heart & Vascular Health.


In the episode, Rogers explains why he's bullish on Houston and THI leading heart health innovation alongside other health care organizations — nonprofits, universities, local government — to collaborate in ways never been done before. And THI is dedicated to this mission.

"We should act as a convener," Rogers says. "Houston is the place to do this.

"The reason I think this is such an important community to address this problem is it's the most diverse city in the United States. And I've never lived anywhere or heard of another city that I was so convinced believed they could do anything they set their minds to. It's about making the community aware of the problem and a potential solution — and then working on trying to solve it," he continues. "But I think all of the pieces are here to show the world how to do this at a community level."

Emerson Perin of the Texas Heart Institute, recently published the largest clinical trial of cell therapy for patients with chronic heart failure to-date included 580 patients at 52 sites throughout North America. Photo via texasheart.org

Houston health care leader on a mission to innovate an end to heart failure

cardiology cured

Emerson Perin’s end goal isn’t to treat heart failure. The medical director of The Texas Heart Institute says that he has his sights set firmly on curing the malady altogether. And, with the power of innovation and a strong team, the Houston-based cardiologist has a good chance of meeting his objective.

Perin first came to THI for fellowship training in 1988, following his residency in Miami and medical school in his birthplace of Brazil.

“This is a very special place,” the physician and researcher, whose titles also include director for THI’s Center for Clinical Research and vice president for medical affairs, tells InnovationMap. “It has a worldwide-reaching reputation. I’ve always liked research and this is a great place in terms of innovation and practicing high-level cardiology.”

For decades, Perin has followed in THI founder Denton Cooley’s footsteps with world-changing research. In 2001, the founding medical director of THI’s Stem Cell Center was the first person to inject stem cells into a failing human heart. It led to a trial of 17 patients that year.

“A couple of the patients did remarkably well — more than you could ever expect. These guys who couldn’t’ walk across the room pretty much were jogging on the beach. That gave me the initial insight that this works,” Perin recalls.

What exactly is heart failure? The term refers to the condition of a heart that can’t pump enough blood to sustainably power the body through oxygenation of the tissues from blood flow. It may sound like a death sentence, but with appropriate care, it can usually be managed with medicines and if worsening occurs, devices and, ultimately, heart transplantation.

And Perin is proving that there’s a lot of life ahead for heart failure patients. Earlier this year, he published another groundbreaking clinical trial, DREAM-HF. The largest clinical trial of cell therapy for patients with chronic heart failure to-date included 580 patients at 52 sites throughout North America.

With the goal of getting a new cell therapy approved for heart failure, the primary endpoint was to prove that the therapy could prevent recurrent hospitalizations.

“It was a total negative,” says Perin. That’s because the cells don’t have a decongestant effect such as the medicines currently used to treat heart failure.

But that doesn’t mean that the trial was a failure. Quite the opposite. That’s because Perin and his team proved something else: The trial was able to prove that there was significant improvement in patients with inflammation. After those patients were injected with mesenchymal precursor cells (MPC), they showed a 70-percent reduction in heart attacks and strokes. Cardiovascular deaths also decreased.

These are blockbuster numbers, and big news for patients dealing with heart failure. What it means is that the cells addressed a different aspect of heart failure that until now had been left untreated which was the inflammation — how heart failure starts and what keeps it going.

So what’s next? Going to the FDA.

“They said, ‘We can’t approve it with one trial, but we’ll approve it with two,’” says Perin.

This time, his primary endpoint will be tailored to suit the positive outcome he knows he’ll be able achieve. This next round will begin in 2024.

Once the FDA approves a new catheter system for injecting the heart with stem cells and genes, the team will proceed with new studies. Gene therapy will be another frontier for Perin — and patients with heart failure.

“I think the combination of cells and genes is even more powerful,” he says. “That will help save lives in a completely new way and do away with heart failure.”

Perin's work is just one piece of the puzzle, and Dr. Joseph Rogers, who was appointed president and CEO of THI in 2021, is leading the organization's initiative in several ways. THI, recently buoyed by a $32 million donation from a patient — the largest charitable donation in its history — is exploring several innovative therapeutics, devices, and treatments.

THI recently received a two-year, $1.14 million grant from The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a novel, first-in-class drug to treat the cardiovascular disease that arises from atherosclerosis. Another THI innovator, Camila Hochman-Mendez — along with her research team — is studying the effects of regenerative medicine on hearts.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Italian aerospace company sets up first U.S. office at Houston Spaceport

welcome to houston

Como, Italy-based aerospace company Involve Space recently made the Houston Spaceport the site of its first U.S. office.

Involve Space develops high-altitude balloon platforms for Earth observation, scientific research and hardware testing. The balloons carry instruments into the stratosphere (a layer of the upper atmosphere) to collect images and data, conduct experiments and test technology.

The company plans to launch its first commercial missions from Houston by the end of this year, according to a news release.

“Houston is the global center of aerospace, and our presence at Houston Spaceport strengthens our international growth trajectory,” Jonathan Polotto, founder and CEO of Involve Space, said in the release.

Founded in 2021, Involve Space incorporates aerospace hardware, AI and geospatial tools into its offerings. Its proprietary CLEAR platform uses conversational AI to help customers interpret data and support decision-making.

Located at Ellington Airport, the Houston Spaceport provides a base for Involve Space’s North American operations, including business development and partnerships with aerospace companies and researchers.

Other tenants at the Houston Spaceport include NASA, Axiom Space, Venus Aerospace and Intuitive Machines.

Involve Space’s relationship with the Houston Spaceport began in January 2025, when it conducted its first U.S. pilot launch. During the five-hour mission, the balloon reached an altitude of about 85,000 feet and traveled about 250 miles across Texas.

One of Involve Space’s first U.S. customers is Houston-based Rhodium Scientific, a space biotech company. Polotto and Rhodium Scientific founder and CEO Olivia Gamez Holzhaus signed a deal to conduct biotech experiments aboard Involve Space’s stratospheric balloon platforms before planned missions to orbit.

“The presence of innovative platforms like those developed by Involve strengthens the Spaceport’s role as a site for testing, validating, and deploying advanced technologies between aeronautics and space,” Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports, added in the release.

UH lands $3M grant to expand opioid overdose training

Overdose Response

The University of Houston has received a $3 million federal grant to expand its potentially life-saving overdose response training program.

The grant will support the Houston Health Department’s FRONTLINES program that trains first responders in Harris and Fort Bend counties to recognize opioid overdoses and administer the drug naloxone, which can counter the effects of an opioid overdose. The four-year grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services, and it builds on eight years of work at UH, according to a release from the university.

As part of the expansion, UH medical, social work and psychology students will now also be able to take part in FRONTLINES’ overdose-response training. Some of the students will also be selected to help train community members, ultimately passing along the life-saving skills throughout Houston.

FRONTLINES is a collaboration with the City of Houston, the Fertitta College of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and the Houston Recovery Center. It was co-founded by Dr. James Bray, chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Houston’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, in 2018.

“When someone experiencing an opioid overdose is reached in time, naloxone can save their life,” Bray said in a news release. “We’ve seen the impact this training can have in Houston, and now we have an opportunity to extend that reach across Harris and Fort Bend counties, putting lifesaving knowledge and tools into the hands of more first responders.”

In 2024, around 450 residents of Harris County died from opioid overdoses, according to a Texas Department of State Health Services report. The report found that fentanyl was involved in about three-quarters of the deaths.

In 2025, UH also received a $2.6 million gift from the estate of Dr. William A. Gibson to expand its opioid research and develop a vaccine to help block fentanyl's effectiveness in entering the brain. The vaccine research is part of the Michael C. Gibson Addiction Research Program led by UH professor of psychology Therese Kosten and founding member of the UH Drug Discovery Institute Colin Haile. Read more about the grant and the vaccine’s development here.

Texas public libraries drive billions in economic impact, report finds

Beyond the Stacks

A new statewide study examining the economic impacts of public libraries has revealed they have generated over $3.8 billion in value to local communities — a return of $4.74 for every $1 invested.

The report, "Beyond the Stacks: Measuring the Economic and Community Value of Texas Public Libraries" was conducted by third-party consultancy JBK Economics Group in partnership with the Texas Library Association. About 300 of the total 513 public libraries in Texas participated in a survey for the report.

A major finding from the survey revealed that public libraries create billions in economic value for the communities they serve at a fraction of what it costs to pay employee wages and benefits, operating expenditures, and capital expenditures. About 11,200 jobs were directly and indirectly supported by public libraries, the report found.

The report found its $4.74 to $1 ratio by adding up the total value of the services provided by these institutions (an estimated $2.48 billion), and comparing it to total expenditures ($808.6 million).

"Public libraries had about the same economic footprint as the Texas motion picture and sound recording industry ($2.9 billion in Gross Domestic Product in 2024) or the Texas paper manufacturing industry ($4.0 billion in Gross Domestic Product in 2024)," the report said.

Many Houstonians are already familiar with Houston Public Library's expansive catalog and programming, but there are many more services the library provides that might fly under the radar. A few examples include access to subscription-based research databases and news outlets, and the Library of Things, a collection of cookware and bake ware, musical instruments, craft kits, and other tools or activity materials that are available for cardholders to borrow. Individual branches also provide free Wi-Fi, computer access, and meeting spaces.

Houston-area residents also have access to services at several other local libraries depending on their address, such as the Harris County Public Library, Montgomery County Memorial Library System, or Fort Bend County Libraries, just to name a few.

These are additional services and partnerships that Texas public libraries commonly provide, per the survey results:

  • 93 percent provide voter registration and/or serve as voting locations
  • 84 percent provide partnerships with local social services agencies
  • 82 percent provide job application assistance
  • 68 percent facilitate applications for government benefits
  • 38 percent provide on-site social services
  • 30 percent provide telehealth rooms and/or resources
"Public libraries are practical, welcoming and rooted in the communities they serve — they are unmistakably Texan," said Texas Library Association executive director Shirley Robinson in a press release. "This study puts a dollar value on the opportunities libraries create every day. Whether someone visits a library to apply for a job, access the internet, learn a new skill or simply find a new favorite book, those services create real value for Texans and their communities."

------

This article first appeared on CultureMap.com.

View All Listings