Modeling excitable systems: Reentrant tachycardia

Excitable membranes are an important type of nonlinear dynamical system, and their study can be used to provide a connection between physical and biological circuits. We discuss two models of excitable membranes important in cardiac and neural tissues. One model is based on the Fitzhugh–Nagumo equat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physics 2010-01, Vol.78 (1), p.56-63
Main Authors: Lancaster, Jarrett L., Hellen, Edward H., Leise, Esther M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cardiology
College students
Heart
Heart surgery
Membranes
Simulation
Tissues
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Summary:Excitable membranes are an important type of nonlinear dynamical system, and their study can be used to provide a connection between physical and biological circuits. We discuss two models of excitable membranes important in cardiac and neural tissues. One model is based on the Fitzhugh–Nagumo equations, and the other is based on a three-transistor excitable circuit. We construct a circuit that simulates reentrant tachycardia and its treatment by surgical ablation. This project is appropriate for advanced undergraduates as a laboratory capstone project or as a senior thesis or honors project and can also be a collaborative project, with one student responsible for the computational predictions and another for the circuit construction and measurements.
ISSN:0002-9505
1943-2909
DOI:10.1119/1.3246868