Tofy Mussivand

Who is Tofy Mussivand?

Tofy Mussivand is an Iranian-Canadian medical engineer who invented an Artificial Cardiac Pump, a device that pumps blood and takes over the function of breathing during a heart surgery.

He is currently Professor of Surgery and Engineering at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University; Chair and Director, Cardiovascular Devices Division of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute; and Medical Devices Program of both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. He is an honorary member of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences.

Mussivand was born to Kurdish parents in the village of Varkaneh in Hamedan. Before leaving Varkaneh to study at Tehran, he was a goat herder. He studied engineering at Tehran University and University of Alberta. He has 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 and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Thereafter, Mussivand joined the Cleveland Clinic Hospital and Research Foundation. In 1989, Mussivand returned to Canada.