This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The heart is a complex three-dimensional structure in which the biophysics of the cardiac action potential and the mechanics of muscle cell contraction interact to produce efficiently coordinated ventricular pumping.
The aim of this research is to develop and experimentally validate an accurate three-dimensional model of regional cardiac mechanics and electrophysiology and their mutual interactions. Three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of the heart are being developed that include accurate descriptions of ventricular anatomy and myofiber architecture, the resting and contractile mechanical properties of myocardium, and the cellular dynamics of action potential propagation. To analyze the biological basis of electromechanical interactions in the intact heart, theoretical models of cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and mechanoelectric feedback will be incorporated into the continuum framework. The coupled models involve large-scale computations and are being implemented on the parallel supercomputers using novel algorithms that by exploiting the structural parallelism of the underlying physical problem. These models will be used to investigate basic questions such as how stretch-activated ion channels affect conduction patterns in the intact heart, and how altered pacing sequences affect ventricular pumping efficiency. In summary, the goals of this project are: * To implement a parallel continuum model of coupled cardiac mechanics and electrophysiology * To develop computational framework to integrate cellular properties to the tissue and organ levels * To investigate ventricular mechanoelectric feedback in anatomically accurate simulations and in an experimental model
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