Thoracic mapping of the nonlinear electrical activity of the heart

The study concerns the numerical simulation of the electrical signal propagation in an excitable tissue that models the electrical activity of the heart. Several objectives are pursued: the response of the dynamical system to the influence of a strong external stimulus, the propagation of the electrical signal in the thoracic volume, and its electrical mapping on the thorax, when the source of the electric activity of the heart is the action potential as described by the complex Landau-Ginzburg equations. The volume conductor - built out of medical images reconstruction techniques out of MRI scans - that models the thorax comprises the heart, the lungs, the spinal cord and the ribs, aiming to evidence the outlining dynamics of the electrical activity of the heart and its echo in the thorax. The numerical simulation results evidence the causal relations that exist between the electrical activity of the heart and the electrical field distribution within the thorax. The model of this direct electrocardiagraphy (ECG) problem may prove useful in studying the associated inverse ECG problems, which consists of investigating the electrical activity of the heart by using available (measured) voltage signals on the thorax - an inverse ECG problem.