Türkiye’s first domestically developed heart-lung machine has been successfully used in a clinical surgery for the first time, marking a milestone in the country’s efforts to apply defense industry capabilities to health technologies.
The Aselsan LIFELINE HLM, developed through cooperation between the Health Ministry and Turkish defense firm Aselsan, safely assumed the patient’s circulation and oxygenation during the operation, enabling the surgery to be completed successfully.
Haluk Gorgun, secretary of Turkish Defense Industries, announced the successful operation on social media.
Describing the system as “an engineering marvel,” Gorgun said the device had, for the first time, performed the function of a heart during surgery.
“For years, we procured this critical device from abroad. Being able to produce it now with our own capabilities is a valuable achievement for our technological independence,” he said on the US social media company X.
Gorgun said the national engineering expertise built in the defense sector was now directly serving human health, adding that authorities aim to expand the use of the device to different hospitals.
He said the device would contribute to health technologies for many years.
“Generating value in strategic civilian sectors, particularly health, through our defense capabilities is among the priority goals of our Secretariat,” Gorgun said.
He thanked the Health Ministry, Aselsan, engineers, and physicians involved in the project and wished the patient a speedy recovery.