Tofigh "Tofy" Mussivand (; 2 December 1942 – 7 January 2024) was an Iranian-Canadian medical engineer of Kurdish origin who invented an artificial cardiac pump, a device that pumps blood and takes over the function of breathing during a heart surgery.

Biography

Mussivand was born to Kurdish parents in the village of Varkaneh in

Hamadan province Hamadan Province () is one of the provinces of Iran, 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Hamadan. In the Zagros Mountains, the province covers an area of 19,546 km2. History Hamadan province is one of the most ancien ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Before leaving Varkaneh to study in Tehran, he was a goat herder. He studied engineering at

Tehran University The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

and

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, and fled Iran in 1957. He worked for the Canadian government, crown corporations, and the private sector. Mussivand went on to receive his doctorate in medical engineering and medical sciences at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Thereafter, he joined the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Academic health science center, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an O ...

. In 1989, Mussivand returned to Canada. Mussivand was a professor of surgery and of engineering at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

; the chair and director of the cardiovascular devices division of the

University of Ottawa Heart Institute The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) ''(French: Institut de cardiologie de l'Université d'Ottawa (ICUO))'' is Canada's largest cardiovascular health centre. It is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It began as a department in The Otta ...

(UOHI) and medical devices program of both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. He was an honorary member of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences. Mussivand died on 7 January 2024, at the age of 81.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussivand, Tofy 1942 births 2024 deaths Canadian cardiologists Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences Kurdish scientists University of Akron alumni People from Hamadan province