ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the mechanism underlying the superiority of the biphasic waveform to monophasic waveform in defibrillation.Method The Luo-Rudy model was adjusted so that it could be used to study defibrillation.Based on the adjusted model the effects of different defibrillation waveforms on cell action potential duration(APD) were studied.Result Biphasic electrical field pulse extended the APD longer than that with monophasic one.Moreover,biphasic waveforms with different strengths could prolong the APD almost equally,while monophasic pulses with different strengths showed different ability to prolong the APD and the spatial distribution of the APD became dispersed.It was also found that the strength of electrical fields pulse contributed much to the change of APD while the duration showed little effect.Conclusion The clinical superiority of biphasic pulses to monophasic pulses in defibrillation is resulted from its ability to prolong the time course of the APD and more importantly,it causes even spatial distribution of the APD.