A highly-detailed 3D model of the human atria

Abstract

The underlaying mechanisms of atrial fibrillation and the involved factors in the chronicity of the disease are object of great interest nowadays. Multiscale cardiac modelling has become a powerful tool since it can help to better understand the physiopathology of arrhythmias. In this study we present a “true” 3D model of the human atria with anatomical and functional heterogeneity. The model includes a realistic definition of the atrial wall thickness and transmurality in fibres orientation. The electrical behaviour of the new model was validated by comparing the propagation sequence in sinus rhythm with respect to experimental activation times. The model was used for arrhythmogenic studies by adding electrical remodelling. We compared the fibrillatory activity of the new model with two models less detailed anatomically but with the same electrophysiological properties. The three models reproduced different fibrillatory patterns with the appearance of rotors in different areas, demonstrating that the anatomical properties of the model affect the electrical behaviour of the simulation. Our results suggest that it is very important to implement highly-detailed models to obtain results as close as possible to the real system.