Key points from article :
Existing mechanical pumps come with significant health risks including infections and causing blood clotting.
Soft robotic sleeve fits around the heart can pump blood around the body, without ever touching it.
In test of six pigs which had all suffered from acute cardiac arrest, device restored normal blood flow and kept them alive.
Sleeve places pneumatic actuators around the heart to mimic the movement of the outer muscle layers and is customisable to patient-specific needs.
The study was published in the Science Translational Medicine journal.
