ABSTRACT
Models of the cellular force development simulate the contractive behavior of the sarcomere. In conjunction with electrophysiological models they can contribute to a better comprehension of physiology and pathologies. Aim of this study is to examine the coupling of cellular electrophysiological processes and force development. For that a graphical user interface was developed to simplify the parameterization and calculation of the models as well as to present the results graphically. A feedback mechanism is introduced to pay attention to close connections between force development and intracellular processes. On basis of various tests with different boundary conditions, new force models are developed, parameterized, validated and compared with models in literature. In future studies the results will be tested in multiple cell organization.
Subject(s)
Computer Simulation , Electrocardiography , Heart Conduction System/physiology , Models, Cardiovascular , Myocardial Contraction/physiology , Sarcomeres/physiology , Actins/physiology , Adenosine Triphosphate/physiology , Calcium Channels/physiology , Computer Graphics , Humans , Myosins/physiology , Tropomyosin/physiology , Troponin/physiologyABSTRACT
Computer aided simulations of the heart provide knowledge of phenomena, which are commonly neither visible nor measurable with current techniques. This knowledge can be applied e.g. in cardiologic diagnosis and therapy. A variety of models was created to reconstruct cardiac processes, e.g. electrical propagation and force development. In this work different macroscopic models were compared, i.e. models based on excitation-diffusion equations and cellular automata. The comparison was carried out concerning reconstruct-ability of cardiac phenomena, mathematical and biophysical foundation as well as computational expense. Particularly, the reconstruct-ability of electromechanic feedback mechanisms was examined. Perspectives for further developments and improvements of models were given.
