SuppliedA University of Alberta academic pediatric cardiologist is one of five University of Alberta researchers to receive a grant from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Dr. Michael Khoury, assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Alberta Stollery Children’s Hospital who did part of his pediatric cardiology fellowship training as well as part of his subspecialty training in advanced heart function and transplantation at the U of A, is a recipient of the 2021-2022 Grant-In-Aid program which provides funding over three years for “important, pertinent, novel research in the area of heart disease and stroke.”
This project revolves around a piece of technology developed by the computer science program at the University of Alberta: the MedBIKE. The MedBIKE is a stationary bike which is linked to a video game and remote monitoring so that the patient’s heart rate, oxygen saturation, and other measurements can be monitored while they exercise.
Specifically, the focus will be on children born with congenital heart disease — heart disease you are born with — who have had a surgical repair of their heart. The plan is to test high intensity interval training (HIIT) and see whether there will be any sustained changes from taking part in the exercise.
The MedBIKE was initially produced by Pierre Boulanger, currently director of the advanced human-computer interface (AHCI) Laboratory. He and his team were trying to study adults who are suffering from cardiac disease.
“When I came here as a fellow a couple years ago, one of my mentors here, Dr. Nee Khoo … started collaborating … with Dr. Boulanger … using the MedBIKE,” Dr. Khoury said. “I got involved in this study as a fellow and it is right up my alley of what I’m interested in.”
The MedBIKE is not only being used in this study. The Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP) is also providing the team with funding for performing the same experiment, but in pediatric heart transplant patients. For this study, Dr. Khoury and his team are collaborating with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“I really think the MedBIKE can extend to other kids … lots of the pediatric population could use more exercise and this would be a way to trial more exercise out of their home while still being supervised,” Dr. Khoury said.
“That’s the goal, to extend this and eventually to use the MedBIKE clinically to manage across the country.”
Dr. Khoury believes that he would not have gotten to where he is today without valuable mentors he has had in the past and still has now. What got him into research was also thanks to some mentors he had during his time in Toronto during his residency.
“I can’t overstate the importance of having a great mentor and finding somebody who shares similar interests to you,” he said. “I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do or get started doing many of the things early in my career if it wasn’t for mentors that I had along the way including now.”
