 Abiomed was founded in Danvers by David M. Lederman in 1981 as Applied Biomedical Corporation, and began working on the development of an artificial heart.Funded by federal research grants, Lederman partnered with The Texas Heart Institute to develop the AbioCor, implanting the first artificial heart into a Kentucky man in July 2001.Fourteen of the AbioCor devices were implanted, during clinical trials from 2001 to 2004, with the longest-living recipient surviving 512 days.