title: Towards real-time simulation of cardiac electrophysiology in a human heart at high resolution.
abstract: We have developed the capability to rapidly simulate cardiac electrophysiological phenomena in a human heart discretised at a resolution comparable with the length of a cardiac myocyte. Previous scientific investigation has generally invoked simplified geometries or coarse-resolution hearts, with simulation duration limited to 10s of heartbeats. Using state-of-the-art high-performance computing techniques coupled with one of the most powerful computers available (the 20 PFlop/s IBM BlueGene/Q at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), high-resolution simulation of the human heart can now be carried out over 1200 times faster compared with published results in the field. We demonstrate the utility of this capability by simulating, for the first time, the formation of transmural re-entrant waves in a 3D human heart. Such wave patterns are thought to underlie Torsades de Pointes, an arrhythmia that indicates a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Our new simulation capability has the potential to impact a multitude of applications in medicine, pharmaceuticals and implantable devices.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Glosli
authors.forename: Erik W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Draeger
authors.forename: Arthur A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mirin
authors.forename: Bor
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fattebert
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oppelstrup
authors.forename: Chris J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gunnels
authors.forename: Viatcheslav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gurev
authors.forename: Changhoan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Magerlein
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reumann
authors.forename: Hui-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: John Jeremy
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rice
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004562:Electrocardiography; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular