High-throughput cardiac science on the Grid.
Cardiac electrophysiology is a mature discipline, with the first model of a cardiac cell action potential having been developed in 1962. Current models range from single ion channels, through very complex models of individual cardiac cells, to geometrically and anatomically detailed models of the electrical activity in whole ventricles. A critical issue for model developers is how to choose parameters that allow the model to faithfully reproduce observed physiological effects without over-fitting. In this paper, we discuss the use of a parametric modelling toolkit, called Nimrod, that makes it possible both to explore model behaviour as parameters are changed and also to tune parameters by optimizing model output. Importantly, Nimrod leverages computers on the Grid, accelerating experiments by using available high-performance platforms. We illustrate the use of Nimrod with two case studies, one at the cardiac tissue level and one at the cellular level.
Abramson
David
D
Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Caulfield East, Melbourne, Victoria 3145, Australia. david.abramson@infotech.monash.edu.au
Bernabeu
Miguel O
MO
Bethwaite
Blair
B
Burrage
Kevin
K
Corrias
Alberto
A
Enticott
Colin
C
Garic
Slavisa
S
Gavaghan
David
D
Peachey
Tom
T
Pitt-Francis
J
J
Pueyo
E
E
Rodriguez
Blanca
B
Sher
Anna
A
Tan
Jefferson
J
D000200:Action Potentials; D057005:Bioengineering / Q000639:trends*; D003201:Computers; D003205:Computing Methodologies; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology; D012984:Software