You are now in the main content area

Dr. Ali Tavallaei

Ali Tavallaei
Assistant Professor
BSc, MASc, PhD, PEng
ENG-466
416-979-5000 ext. 6078

Areas of Academic Interest

Image guided therapy: Minimally invasive interventions

Medical imaging

Medical systems and devices

Medical robotics

Mechatronics

Education

Year University Degree
2015 Western University PhD
2008 University of Tabriz MSc
2005 Urmia University BSc

Courses Taught

Course Code Course
BME 674 Biomedical Instrumentation

Spotlight

When Ali Tavallaei approached the front of the class as a first-time English instructor in his native Iran, the trilingual 18-year-old was overcome with nerves. “Everybody was older than me. They started making fun of me when I walked up to the board, because they thought I was joking around,” he recalls. Eventually, those nerves dissipated and Tavallaei’s passion for teaching took over. “My personal belief is that if you know something, it’s your responsibility to share that knowledge,” says Tavallaei. “Society would be better off if everybody shared what they know.”

Societal impact has been a driving force throughout Tavallaei’s career in biomedical engineering, more specifically, image-guided therapy in cardiovascular interventions. “Cardiovascular disease is the number 1 global cause of death. There are millions of procedures every year, but up to 30 per cent fail or have to go for repeats. There’s still so much room for improvement.” Tavallaei’s most significant contribution comes in the form of an advanced cardiac catheter, a device that has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 1929. “Our new advanced catheter will overcome the limitations of existing catheters, in terms of steering, pushability, navigation, visualization – all with a single-use, inexpensive device. It will make a huge global impact.”

 Ali's Twitter Profile (external link)  
 Ali's LinkedIn Profile (external link) 

Ali Tavallaei

“There’s a tremendous amount of joy in solving a problem or answering a question that’s not yet answered. I find that thrilling.”

  • Ernsting Entrepreneurship Award, 2016
  • Summa Cum Laude, Imaging Network of Ontario, 2016
  • Best Engineering Paper Award (Co-author), Society of Robotic Cardiac Navigation, 2017
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2013-2014
  • M. A. Tavallaei, G. Wright, J. Zhou, E. Lam, “System and Method for Device Steering, Tracking, and Navigation of Devices for Interventional Procedures” PCT/US19/30142, 2019, Assigned to Magellan Biomedical Inc.
  • M. A. Tavallaei, T. Roy, J. Zhou, G. Wright, “Performance Assessment of a Radiofrequency Powered Guidewire for Crossing Peripheral Arterial Occlusions Based on Lesion Morphology”, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2018, DOI 10.1007/s10439-018-2021-y.
  • A. Campbell, M. A. Tavallaei, M. Pop, H. Chubb, K. Rhode, G. Wright, “Real-Time MRI Guidance of Cardiac Interventions”, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2017, DOI 10.1002/jmri.25749.
  • M. A. Tavallaei, S. F. Atashzar, M. Drangova, “Robust Motion Control of Ultrasonic Motors under Temperature Disturbance”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 2016, DOI 10.1109/TIE.2015.2499723.
  • M. A. Tavallaei, D. Gelman, M. K. Lavdas, A. C. Skanes, D. L. Jones, J. S. Bax, M. Drangova, “Design, Development and Evaluation of a Compact Tele-Robotic Catheter Navigation System”, International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery, 2015, DOI 10.1002/rcs.1711.
  • Board Member and Member of Scientific Committee, Society For Cardiac Robotic Navigation Americas (SCRN-A)
  • Co-Founder and President, Magellan Biomedical Inc.
  • Co-Founder and President, Vital Biomedical Technologies Inc.