Innovative Methods and Tools for Advanced Analyses of Cardiovascular Flows

目前，全球每年有1700多万人死于心血管疾病，约占总死亡人数的30%。此外，预计到2030年，心血管疾病仍将是加拿大和世界范围内死亡的主要原因。尽管临床研究取得了重大进展，但大多数严重的危重心血管疾病仍然无法治愈。降低死亡率和提高患者生活质量的最好方法是使用植入式心血管医疗设备。然而，这种装置的开发是具有挑战性的，并且需要在装置植入之前和之后的流动动力学的高级知识。遗憾的是，目前的标准所依赖的参数不允许对流场进行深入探索。这导致植入设备的潜在性能不佳，从而增加了患者的风险，并给医疗设备公司带来了沉重的经济负担。因此，迫切需要通过引入创新的方法和工具来重新考虑植入式心血管医疗设备的性能评估，这些方法和工具将提供前所未有的流动动力学描述。为了实现这一目标，这项研究计划围绕三个创新的研究轴心进行。在研究轴#1，我们建议使用先进的拓扑方法改进植入式医疗设备的设计；在研究轴#2，我们建议使用基于图论的方法来改进设备的性能和安全性评估；在研究轴#3，我们建议通过嵌入先进的弹性体软执行器来进一步开发我们独特的3D打印患者专用模拟器来提高其性能。预期给加拿大带来的好处。全球医疗器械市场的价值约为3500亿美元。然而，加拿大没有利用这一市场，因为医疗器械仅占总出口的0.4%左右。拟议的研究计划将允许开发先进的方法和工具，共同为植入式心血管医疗设备创建一个独特的研究平台。这一创新平台将在安全可控的环境下开发、优化和测试新型植入式心血管医疗设备方面发挥重要作用。这将大大有助于促进加拿大的创新，提高其在该领域的竞争力。

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.