Having a pulse is generally associated with not being dead, but that's only because a pulse is connected to a heartbeat. There's no reason that our blood needs to be all stop and go like that, and a new type of heart implant uses a pair of turbines to eliminate both heartbeat and pulse while quietly and efficiently keeping you alive.

Most artificial heart implants are pumps that seek to replicate the method of functioning of a human heart, i.e. a heart that beats. The only reason that out heart beats, though, is to that it can take a little break to get nourishment, which is something that an artificial heart doesn't generally have to worry about. In this context, turbines make a lot of sense, since they've only got one simple moving part and are therefor very reliable, which is just exactly what you're looking for in a replacement for a vital organ.

The centrifugal turbine heart pump was developed by doctors at the Texas Heart Institute, and it's been tested for quite a while on animals along with one successful human trial — with no ill effects so far, too. Well, besides the fact that anyone using the implant doesn't have a pulse or a heartbeat and their EKGs are always flatlining, That, and if you listen to someone using the implant's chest you just hear a faint humming sound.

The FDA still has to approve this technology, which is almost certainly going to mean design changes and further lengthy trials, but it's looking like turbine heart replacements might be the next step forward in medical implants.

Via NPR