The heart pacemaker by cellular automata on complex networks

Abstract

Specially desinged network of Greenberg-Hastings (GH) cellular automata is shown to be a reliable approximation to cardiac pacemaker. A complex network is built basing on a square lattice where some edges are rewired locally and with preference to link to cells which are more connected to other cells. GH automata are systems with cyclic intrinsic dynamics where three possible cell's states are characterized by timings - time steps spent in each state. Complex networks of GH automata evolve rhythmically with periods determined by timings. Diversity of oscillations coexisting in the system depends on network topology. Large variety in oscillations is interpreted as effectiveness to response to actual needs of a body. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.