title: Models of cardiac electromechanics based on individual hearts imaging data: image-based electromechanical models of the heart.
abstract: Current multi-scale computational models of ventricular electromechanics describe the full process of cardiac contraction on both the micro- and macro- scales including: the depolarization of cardiac cells, the release of calcium from intracellular stores, tension generation by cardiac myofilaments, and mechanical contraction of the whole heart. Such models are used to reveal basic mechanisms of cardiac contraction as well as the mechanisms of cardiac dysfunction in disease conditions. In this paper, we present a methodology to construct finite element electromechanical models of ventricular contraction with anatomically accurate ventricular geometry based on magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging of the heart. The electromechanical model couples detailed representations of the cardiac cell membrane, cardiac myofilament dynamics, electrical impulse propagation, ventricular contraction, and circulation to simulate the electrical and mechanical activity of the ventricles. The utility of the model is demonstrated in an example simulation of contraction during sinus rhythm using a model of the normal canine ventricles.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Computational Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., CSEB Room 218, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. vgurev@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Viatcheslav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gurev
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Constantino
authors.forename: Hermenegild
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arevalo
authors.forename: Natalia A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Trayanova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004285:Dogs; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D016276:Ventricular Function