MECHENG 4M06 (2023-2024)

Project Submission Form

Project Code: ZM01
Project Title: Design, construction and testing of a patient-specific mitral valve

Project Supervisor’s Name: Dr. Zahra Motamed

Project Supervisor’s Email: motamedz@mcmaster.ca
Number of Students (minimum of 2 and maximum of
3 to 4
4):
Must interested students meet with the supervisor
Yes
before making their project selections?

Project Features Yes/No

Design of custom components Yes
Integration of off-the-shelf components Yes
Design Analysis – using an analytical approach or “hand calculations”. Yes
Design Analysis – using computational tools (CFD, FEA, CAD modeling, etc.) Yes
Design Optimization Yes
Design and Build (minimal to no custom fabrication in Mech. Eng. workshops) Yes
Design and Build (some or a lot of custom fabrication in Mech. Eng. workshops) No
Use of equipment/apparatus/rig/etc. in Supervisor's lab space No
Use of equipment in another location (Outsourcing 3-D print of the elastic valve) Yes

If the project does not involve building and testing, then a detailed computer simulation
of the design must be developed. What specific software packages (free or licensed to
McMaster) should the group use to develop these simulations?

Project Background:

Mitral valve diseases constitute a prevalent cardiovascular pathology among elderly

populations. Diagnosis of mitral valve diseases as well as prediction of mitral valve
interventions are both greatly aided by evaluation of geometrical parameters in clinical
settings.
Description of Design Problem (in about 200 words):

This project is focused on design, construction, and prototyping of patient-specific mitral valve.
The accurate replication of mitral valve anatomy and geometry can be done using a combination
of medical imaging acquisition (1) and parameterizing the valve structure using an open-source
toolbox and cad models (2). The constructed mitral valve should replicate the patients-specific
valve leaflets motion and dynamics.
(1)Vukicevic, Marija, et al. "Patient-specific 3D valve modeling for structural intervention." Structural Heart 1.5-6 (2017): 236-248.
(2) de Oliveira, Diana C., et al. "A toolbox for generating scalable mitral valve morphometric models." Computers in Biology and
Medicine 135 (2021): 104628.

Design challenges and expectations for successful completion of the project (including
quantified requirements):
The project details the following steps:
[1] To perform literature review: the team should have a comprehensive literature review to get
familiar with the project details, come up with novel ideas.
[2] To design a patient-specific mitral valve based on #1. For this purpose, the team should use a
CAD software.
[3] All design steps should be discussed by engineering analysis and interpretations.
[4] After getting Dr. Motamed’s approval on the design, the team should proceed to 3-D print
the elastic mitral valve.
[5] The group must design and build an apparatus for testing the valve. Static and dynamic flow
tests should be performed at specific pressures using this apparatus.
[6] If possible, the valve should also be tested on the cardiac simulator that is being developed in
Motamed lab.

This is a design, build and test project, and active participation of all team members and their
time management skills as essential for the success of the project. The team should be able to
effectively distribute work, accomplish tasks independently and cooperatively and in a timely
manner to meet the project expectations.

Supervisor’s expectations from the group:

Minimum Expectations:
 The group is expected to plan ahead and manage the project’s tasks properly throughout
the course.
 In addition to shared tasks, the group must assign individual tasks so project work can be
done in parallel.
 Tasks should be organized such that all members have something to work on each week.
 Attendance at scheduled weekly meetings with the supervisor is required. All members
should have progress to report at these meetings individually.
 Timely response to emails, or Teams messages, from the supervisor.
 Upkeep of proper design journals using Notion.
 Provide the supervisor weekly progress report one day before the weekly meetings.
 All document or reports (that need supervisor’s approval) must be submitted to the
 supervisor to review and approve at least one week before the deadline.

Additional Expectations:
 Authenticity / Plagiarism Detection
to reveal authenticity and ownership of student submitted work, all submitted materials
and reports will be explored by the supervisor using plagiarism detection (a service
supported by Turnitin.com or similar software) for academic dishonesty.
It is the students’ responsibility to understand what constitutes academic
dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or
could result in unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in
serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a
notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic
dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. For information on the
various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
located at https://secretariat.mcmaster.ca/university-policies-roceduresguidelines/

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:

• plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit
has been obtained.
• improper collaboration in group work.
• copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

Team’s expectation from the project supervisor:

Minimum Expectations:
 Active engagement in the project work.
 Weekly meetings with the group.
 Feedback provided at the weekly meetings.
 Timely response to emails, or Teams messages, from the students.
 Clear and detailed comments on written reports provided in a timely manner.
 Effective mentoring of students.