mulder@ualberta.ca
Undergraduate Co-op
Biomedical Mechanical Engineering
EVHP Group

Research Interests : Biomedical applications, fluid mechanics, mechanical design

Demand for heart transplants far exceeds supply. In North America only 36-39% of available donor hearts are successfully transplanted due in part to evidence of impaired cardiac function upon donation and to the narrow 6 hour window currently available for transplantation. Ex vivo heart perfusion (EVHP) has been proposed as a method by which damaged donor hearts can be resuscitated and preserved, thereby expanding the donor pool and the window available for transplantation. EVHP involves connecting donor hearts to a mechanical system that facilitates the heart function outside the body for extended periods of time. This method not only allows the opportunity for recovery through control of metabolic and functional conditions but also allows monitoring of myocardial function, which is key in assessing transplantation viability. Clinical results of the current system are promising. However, the fluid dynamics of the mechanical flow loop and their corresponding impact on cardiac performance have yet to be fully understood. My research focuses on the development of mechanical instrumentation to better assess this cardiac performance. Since the pulsatile nature of fluid flow within the ex vivo system makes blood flow rate measurements difficult, an obstruction flow meter based on unsteady effects has been developed as a way to measure this type of fluid flow.