Simulation of intracardial potentials with anisotropic computer heart models.

To date, most interests in simulation studies with whole heart models are in body surface or epicardial potentials in order to compare the results with measurements in experimental and clinical practices. The focus of this study is paid on intracardial potentials as they are comparable with measurements during the invasive Electrophysiological Study (EPS) and the catheter ablation, which are becoming a dominant means in the therapy of arrhythmias. In this paper, simulations are implemented based on anisotropic computer heart models and a simulation system previously developed. The heart model consists of about 50,000 discrete cell elements with 1.5 mm spatial resolution. An algorithm in computing intracardial potentials inside the four cavities of the heart is developed. The HRA (High Right Atrium), HIS (His Bundle), RVA (Right Ventricle Apex), and CS (Coronary Sinus) potentials are shown and compared between a normal heart model and a heart model with the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome. By employing the intracardial potential parameters and morphology, the position of the accessory pathway between the atria and ventricula in the WPW computer heart model can be qualitatively located. It is concluded that the simulated intracardial potentials based on an anisotropic whole heart model can well approximate the realistic intracardial potentials.