Full-scale simulation of cardiac electrophysiology on parallel computers

Abstract

In this chapter, we will present an advanced parallel electro-cardiac simulator, which employs anisotropic and inhomogeneous conductivities in realistic three-dimensional geometries for modeling both the heart and the torso. Since partial differential equations (PDEs) constitute the main part of the mathematical model, this chapter thus demonstrates a concrete example of solving PDEs on parallel computers. It will be shown that good overall parallel performance relies on at least two factors. First, the serial numerical strategy must find a parallel substitute that is scalable with respect to both convergence and work amount. Second, care must be taken to avoid unnecessary duplicated local computations while maintaining an acceptable level of load balance. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.