Heart implant surgery (image 10 of 12). Artificial heart (white) and blood vessel (red, down right) seen near a heart (lower left) during heart implant surgery. This blood vessel is carrying blood from the Novacor artificial heart to the body's main artery, the aorta. The heart implant takes over the left ventricle's function of pumping blood to the body through the aorta. The implant is placed in the abdomen and is powered by an external battery. Artificial hearts are temporary measures used in cases of untreatable heart disease which keep a patient alive until a heart donor is found. This sequence of artificial heart implantation runs from image M561/033-044.