Title :
Tachyarrhythmia threshold of ischemic heart in 3-dimensional computer model
Author :
Fishler, Matthew G. ; Thakor, Nitish V.
Author_Institution :
Biomed. Eng., Johns Hopkins Sch. of Med., Baltimore, MD, USA
Abstract :
A three-dimensional (3-D) computer model of electrical propagation through an ischemic heart is presented. Thirty-eight slices through a real dog heart are discretized into 9532 1.5-mm-sided cubic elements to form the anatomical basis of the model. Each element can be in one of five states: absolutely refractory, three relative refractory states, and an excitable state. Propagation from an excited element to its neighbors occurs in 3-D with varying velocities, depending upon the current state of those neighbors. Ischemia in a specific region of the heart in this model is represented by a reduction in conduction velocities in that region. By varying both the number of extra-stimuli applied to the heart and the severity of the ischemia, this model simulates transitions into sustained, as well as spontaneously terminating, ventricular tachycardias and fibrillations. In addition, this model demonstrates that the threshold for sustained tachyarrhythmia decreases as the ischemia becomes more severe
Keywords :
cardiology; digital simulation; medical computing; 3D computer model; anatomy; conduction velocity; cubic elements; dog heart; electrical propagation; excitable state; ischemic heart; tachyarrhythmia threshold; ventricular fibrillation; Biomedical computing; Biomedical engineering; Fibrillation; Heart; Humans; Ischemic pain; Muscles; Myocardium; Solid modeling; Surgery;
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1989. Images of the Twenty-First Century., Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in
Conference_Location :
Seattle, WA
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.1989.95588
