Aymara women in Bolivia are known for their beautiful weaving techniques and now they are putting their talents to good use by weaving a small high-tech medical heart implant that can’t be massed produced.
The implant was created by Bolivian cardiologist Franz Freudenthal, which almost looks like a jellyfish—it travels through blood vessels and expands when it reaches the heart. The Aymara women weave the device using a single strand of nitinol, an elastic metal which can close a hole found in a patient’s heart. These women train for 4 months in a lab to create these delicate woven occluders, which work for the person’s entire life.
“I learned how to weave when I was a child,” said Julia Yapita Poma. “They teach us in the schools, and our mothers tell us we must learn how to weave. I never imagined I would work like this, saving people, saving kids. For me, it a blessing that fell upon me to work here. I feel proud.”
