Title :
Filament behavior in a computational model of ventricular fibrillation in the canine heart
Author :
Clayton, Richard H. ; Holden, Arun V.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Comput. Sci., Univ. of Sheffield, UK
Abstract :
The aim of this paper was to quantify the behavior of filaments in a computational model of re-entrant ventricular fibrillation. We simulated cardiac activation in an anisotropic monodomain with excitation described by the Fenton-Karma model with Beeler-Reuter restitution, and geometry by the Auckland canine ventricle. We initiated re-entry in the left and right ventricular free walls, as well as the septum. The number of filaments increased during the first 1.5 s before reaching a plateau with a mean value of about 36 in each simulation. Most re-entrant filaments were between 10 and 20 mm long. The proportion of filaments touching the epicardial surface was 65%, but most of these were visible for much less than one period of re-entry. This paper shows that useful information about filament dynamics can be gleaned from models of fibrillation in complex geometries, and suggests that the interplay of filament creation and destruction may offer a target for antifibrillatory therapy.
Keywords :
bioelectric potentials; biomembrane transport; electrocardiography; physiological models; 1.5 s; 10 mm; 20 mm; Auckland canine ventricle; Beeler-Reuter restitution; Fenton-Karma model; anisotropic monodomain; antifibrillatory therapy; canine heart; cardiac activation; computational model; epicardial surface; filament behavior; filament creation; filament destruction; filament dynamics; left ventricular free wall; reentrant filaments; right ventricular free wall; septum; ventricular fibrillation; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Blood flow; Computational modeling; Fibrillation; Heart; Information geometry; Medical treatment; Solid modeling; Spatiotemporal phenomena; Surface waves; Action Potentials; Animals; Body Surface Potential Mapping; Computer Simulation; Dogs; Heart Conduction System; Heart Ventricles; Models, Cardiovascular; Models, Neurological; Muscle Fibers; Myocardial Contraction; Pericardium; Tachycardia, Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry; Ventricular Fibrillation;
Journal_Title :
Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TBME.2003.820356