Modeling of cardiac electro-mechanics in a truncated ellipsoid model of left ventricle

Abstract

Modeling of cardiac electro-mechanics enables and simplifies understanding of physiology and pathophysiology of the heart. In this work a model is presented, which allows the reconstruction of macroscopic electro-mechanical processes in the left ventricle of small mammals. The model combines a three-dimensional model of left ventricular anatomy represented as truncated ellipsoid with an integrated electromechanical model. The integrated model includes electrophysiological, force development and elastomechanical models of myocardium. The model is illustrated by simulations, which reflect the behavior of an extracorporated heart. These simulations yield temporal distributions of electrophysiological parameters as well as descriptions of electrical propagation and mechanical deformation. The simulations show the connection between cellular electrophysiology, electrical excitation propagation, force development, and mechanical deformation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.