Data-driven and physics-based approaches to develop predictive models for cardiovascular diseases

This is a part of the Intelligent Medical Decision Making Seminar Series (Presented on October 4, 2023).

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a standard therapeutic strategy for patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis. In 2019, TAVR was approved for low-risk patients by the U.S. FDA, and the number of TAVRs exceeded the number of surgical replacement operations. TAVR is associated with adverse outcomes and predicting them is an important step to optimize and improve pre-procedural planning and patient therapy. Using a combination of experimental, computational, and clinical data that correlate adverse outcomes with potential predisposing factors, we are working on the development of several predictive models and tools to assist clinicians with pre-procedural planning.

About the Speaker: Dr. Hoda Hatoum obtained her BS degree in mechanical engineering from the American University of Beirut and her PhD degree from the Ohio State University (OSU). She was awarded the American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship and right after graduation, she completed her postdoctoral training at the Ohio State University and at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research lab at Michigan Tech focuses on tackling the complexity of: (a) structural heart biomechanics (adult and congenital); (b) patient-specific cardiovascular model development and in-vitro testing; (c) prosthetic heart valve engineering (surgical and transcatheter); (d) structure-function relationships of the heart in health and disease at the pediatric and adult stages; (e) turbulence in blood flow in relation to blood damage and (f) impact of arrhythmias and treatment approaches on cardiovascular flows. Dr. Hatoum has two patents filed on minimizing likelihood of leaflet thrombosis and on a novel implantable vascular shunt with real-time precise flow control. She received several recognitions including the Young Investigator Award at the Gordon Research Conference on Biomechanics in Vascular Biology and Disease 2023 and she was a finalist at the American College of Cardiology Young Investigator Award competition in 2021.