title: Applications of a detailed model of cardiac conduction to ventricular dysrhythmogenesis.
abstract: In order to study transitions from normal patterns of electrical activity to abnormal patterns, such as ventricular activation, one requires a means to represent the state of myocardial electrical activation in a few parameters. Two parameters are presented here: 1) the net vorticity index (NVI) which is a measure of the net vorticity in a given region, and 2) the wavefront fractionation index (WFI), which is a measure of perturbations in the propagation of the electrical activation through the myocardium. Both parameters are topological measures in that normal propagation is condensed to a zero state, irrespective of smooth changes in wavefront orientation or shape. Several examples are demonstrated using a computer simulation of cardiac conduction. Potential applications to clinical diagnosis using experimentally obtainable data are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, USA.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Saxberg
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular