Techno Odyssey

A new series where the poet Paul Farley re-imagines technology we rely on but take for granted, taking the listener on unexpected journeys into technological environments.

From subsea internet cables to heart valve surgery to cash in transit Paul makes us think again about the less seen but vital places and systems that make our world tick. In each programme he writes a poem, as a response to each environment.

3. Cardiac

In an odyssey of a different kind, Paul follows the journey of a heart valve from its manufacturers in Milan to a patient in a UK hospital. One in twenty of us will suffer from valve complications in later life and that figure is rising as the population ages. From the perspective of one of the women working on the mechanical valve production lines, Paul's sonnets explore the life story of the valves and wrap around recordings of their assembly and the sophisticated surgery involved in their replacement. It's exactly 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci devised the first prosthetic heart valve, also in Milan. As well as telling the story of this miraculous mechanical object which can give people a second life Paul also reflects on the greatest piece of technology of all: the heart itself.

Reader Aisling Loftus Produced by Neil McCarthy Sound Design Phil Channell

Featuring, Roberto Casula and his team at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Umberto Pasquali, Gianni Rolando, Sorin Group, Milan.