Heart Valve Disease and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

Key Research Areas

• Aortic stenosis
• Advanced analysis of cardiac imaging
• Machine learning

Research Overview

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart condition in Australia and causes the heart’s aortic valve to narrow. Patients with AS are often only diagnosed once it has progressed to end-stage AS and caused significant damage to the heart, which can significantly affect their only treatment option – the replacement of the aortic valve.

A/Prof Mayooran Namasivayam and his team are working on novel ways to diagnose and predict risk in patients with this disease using artificial intelligence applied to medical imaging. Leading a team of researchers spanning the Institute, St Vincent’s Hospital, and UNSW Sydney, A/Prof Namasivayam hopes to better identify patients with AS earlier in their disease course and also identify which patients are most likely to benefit from early intervention.

AS is a growing health problem with around one in eight elderly Australians having moderate or severe valvular heart disease.

There are three key projects underway in the Heart Valve Disease and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, led by A/Prof Mayooran Namasivayam:

1. Disease trajectory in moderate aortic stenosis

This project aims to evaluate the progression of ventricular-valvular interaction in early aortic stenosis using advanced imaging and machine learning.

2. Deep phenotyping of cardiovascular physiology in TAVI

This project aims to evaluate physiological and clinical responses to TAVI using advanced imaging and machine learning in patients with severe aortic stenosis from St. Vincent’s Hospital, the largest TAVI centre in NSW.

3. Risk prediction in TAVI

This project aims to evaluate clinical outcomes using advanced imaging and machine learning in patients undergoing TAVI using a national multicentre collaboration.

Dr Farhan Mohammed, Post-doctoral scientist

Dr Thomas Meredith, PhD student

Amy Pomeroy, Research Assistant

Enver Clark, Research Assistant

1. Namasivayam M; Churchill TW; Dal-Bianco JP; Hung J, 2020, 'Updates to a Modern Dilemma: a Practical Approach to the Workup and Management of Low-Gradient Severe Aortic Stenosis Using Transvalvular Flow Rate', Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol. 22, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s119...
2. Namasivayam M; Dal-Bianco JP, 2020, 'Progression of aortic stenosis with bicuspid aortic valves: Evidence and intuition', European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 21, pp. 735 - 736, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ehjc...
3. Namasivayam M; Adji A; Lin L; Hayward CS; Feneley MP; O’Rourke MF; Muller DWM; Jabbour A, 2020, 'Non-Invasive Quantification of Ventricular Contractility, Arterial Elastic Function and Ventriculo-Arterial Coupling from a Single Diagnostic Encounter Using Simultaneous Arterial Tonometry and Magnetic Resonance Imaging', Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology, vol. 11, pp. 283 - 294, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s132...
4. Bertrand PB; Churchill TW; Yucel E; Namasivayam M; Bernard S; Nagata Y; He W; Andrews CT; Picard MH; Weyman AE; Levine RA; Hung J, 2020, 'Prognostic importance of the transmitral pressure gradient in mitral annular calcification with associated mitral valve dysfunction', European Heart Journal, vol. 41, pp. 4321 - 4328, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurh...
5. Yucel E; Bertrand PB; Churchill JL; Namasivayam M, 2020, 'The tricuspid valve in review: Anatomy, pathophysiology and echocardiographic assessment with focus on functional tricuspid regurgitation', Journal of Thoracic Disease, vol. 12, pp. 2945 - 2954, http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jtd...
6. Namasivayam M; He W; Churchill TW; Capoulade R; Liu S; Lee H; Danik JS; Picard MH; Pibarot P; Levine RA; Hung J, 2020, 'Transvalvular Flow Rate Determines Prognostic Value of Aortic Valve Area in Aortic Stenosis', Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 75, pp. 1758 - 1769, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...
7. Liu S; Churchill J; Hua L; Zeng X; Rhoades V; Namasivayam M; Baliyan V; Ghoshhajra BB; Dong T; Dal-Bianco JP; Passeri JJ; Levine RA; Hung J, 2020, 'Direct Planimetry of Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Area by Simultaneous Biplane Imaging: Challenging the Need for a Circular Assumption of the Left Ventricular Outflow Tract in the Assessment of Aortic Stenosis', Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 33, pp. 461 - 468, https://www.onlinejase.com/article...
8. Namasivayam M; Picard MH, 2020, 'Flow Rate in Aortic Stenosis: Clinical Tool, Hemodynamic Insight, or Both?', Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 33, pp. 449 - 451, https://www.onlinejase.com/article/S0894...
9. Crousillat D; Namasivayam M; Passeri JJ, 2020, 'Severe, Symptomatic Aortic Stenosis: an Update on the Diagnostic and Treatment Tools in Our Arsenal', Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol. 22, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s119...
10. Namasivayam M; Hayward CS; Muller DWM; Jabbour A; Feneley MP, 2019, 'Ventricular-Vascular Coupling Ratio Is the Ejection Fraction in Disguise', Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 32, pp. 791, https://www.onlinejase.com/article/S089...
11. Namasivayam M; Feneley MP; Hayward CS; Shaw M; Rao S; Jansz P; Muller DWM, 2018, 'First Evaluation of Acute Left Ventricular Response to Off-Pump Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement in High-Risk Patients', JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, vol. 11, pp. 2239 - 2240, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S19368...