Dr. Juan Giambruno is a Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

an cardiac surgeon

Cardiac surgery

Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...

 at Universidad de la República, Montevideo.

His major work is a fully implantable artificial heart called CATO (Corazón Artificial Total Ortotópico - Spanish for Orthotopic Total Artificial Heart

Artificial heart

An artificial heart is a mechanical device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible...

), which looks and acts like a real heart. In the development of the CATO, Giambruno worked together with an important team of Uruguayan scientists (cardiac surgeons, engineers, veterinarians and others). The CATO has been tested in cows with good results. Giambruno has earned international patents for his invention.
The main factor why the project hasn't been completed yet is the lack of economic resources. For years, the team of scientists has been working very hard and for free, in the living room of Giambruno's apartment in Montevideo.