Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to develop a computer model-based planning environment for therapeutically cardiac interventions, i.e. surgical or catheter ablation procedures in atrial cases and placing pacemaker electrodes in biventricular pacing. Existing mathematical models are used to simulate the electrophysiology on an anatomical pig model during a heart cycle. The results of these models were validated in multiple domestic pig animal experiments. We found that the models created enable us to simulate the electrical behaviour of the heart nearly in real time and that it reproduces the properties of the heart in atrial flutter and in ventricular pacing with different pacing locations. The results of computer-based simulations may lead to a better understanding of cardiac rhythm disorders and the development of new, less invasive operative techniques.