Efficient computational methods for strongly coupled cardiac electromechanics.

Abstract

Strongly coupled cardiac electromechanical models can further our understanding of the relative importance of feedback mechanisms in the heart, but computational challenges currently remain a major obstacle, which limit their widespread use. To address this issue, we present a set of efficient computational methods including an efficient adaptive cell model integration scheme and a solution method for the monodomain equations that maintains high conduction velocity for time steps greater than 0.1 ms. We also present a novel method for increasing the efficiency of simulating electromechanical coupling, which shows a significant reduction in computational cost of the mechanical component on a personalized left ventricular geometry with an active contraction cell model reparametrized for human cells.