Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Cardiovascular disease is currently responsible for more than 17 million deaths per year worldwide, corresponding to about 30% of all deaths combined. Furthermore, it is projected that cardiovascular disease is to remain the leading cause of mortality in Canada and worldwide by 2030. Despite significant advancements in clinical research, most severe critical cardiovascular disease remain not curable. The best way to reduce mortality and improve the quality of life in patients is then to use implantable cardiovascular medical devices. The development of such devices is however challenging and requires advanced knowledge of the flow dynamics prior and post device implantation. Unfortunately, current standards rely on parameters that do not allow for an in-depth exploration of the flow field. This leads to a potential suboptimal performance of the implanted devices resulting in elevated risks on patients and a high economic burden on medical device companies. Hence, there is a critical need to reconsider the evaluation of implantable cardiovascular medical devices performance by introducing innovative methods and tools that will provide an unprecedented description of the flow dynamics. To achieve this objective, this research program is articulated around three innovative research axes. In research axis# 1, we propose using advanced topological methods to improve the design of implantable medical devices; in research axis# 2, we propose using graph theory-based methods to improve the evaluation of the performance and safety of the devices; and in research axis# 3, we propose further developing our unique design of a 3D-printed patient-specific simulator by embedding advanced elastomer soft actuators to improve its performance. Anticipated Benefits to Canada. The global market for medical devices is valued at around $350 billion. Nevertheless, Canada does not take advantage of this market since medical devices only represent about 0.4% of the total exports. The proposed research program will allow the development of advanced methods and tools that will together create a unique research platform for implantable cardiovascular medical devices. This innovative platform will play a significant role in the development, optimization and testing of new implantable cardiovascular medical devices in a safe and controllable environment. This will significantly contribute towards promoting Canadian innovation and raising its competitiveness in the field.