O. Blanc et al., A computer model of human atria with reasonable computation load and realistic anatomical properties, IEEE BIOMED, 48(11), 2001, pp. 1229-1237
Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent arrhythmia, provoking discomfort,
heart failure and arterial embolisms. The aim of this work is to develop a
simplified anatomical computer model of human atria for the study of atrial
arrhythmias and the understanding of electrical propagation mechanisms. Wi
th the model we propose, up to 40 s of real-time propagation have been simu
lated on a single-processor computer. The size and the electrophysiological
properties of the simulated atria are within realistic values and informat
ion about anatomy has been taken into account in a three-dimensional struct
ure. Besides normal sinus beat, pathological phenomena such as flutter and
fibrillation have been induced using a programmed stimulation protocol. One
important observation in our model is that atrial arrhythmias are a combin
ation of functional and anatomical reentries and that the geometry plays an
important role. This virtual atrium can reproduce electrophysiological obs
ervations made in humans but with the advantage of showing in great detail
how arrhythmias are initiated and sustained. Such details are difficult or
impossible to study in humans. This model will serve us as a tool to evalua
te the impact of new therapeutic strategies and to improve them.