A finite volume method for modeling discontinuous electrical activation in cardiac tissue.
This paper describes a finite volume method for modeling electrical activation in a sample of cardiac tissue using the bidomain equations. Microstructural features to the level of cleavage planes between sheets of myocardial fibers in the tissue are explicitly represented. The key features of this implementation compared to previous modeling are that it represents physical discontinuities without the implicit removal of intracellular volume and it generates linear systems of equations that are computationally efficient to construct and solve. Results obtained using this method highlight how the understanding of discontinuous activation in cardiac tissue can form a basis for better understanding defibrillation processes and experimental recordings.
Trew
Mark
M
Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. m.trew@auckland.ac.nz
Le Grice
Ian
I
Smaill
Bruce
B
Pullan
Andrew
A
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology*; D016276:Ventricular Function