Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

In an earlier study, we experimentally mimicked the effects of mechanical interaction between different regions of the ventricular wall by allowing pairs of independently maintained cardiac muscle fibers to interact mechanically in series or in parallel. This simple physiological model of heterogeneous myocardium, which has been termed "duplex," has provided new insight into basic effects of cardiac electromechanical heterogeneity. Here, we present a novel "hybrid duplex," where one of the elements is an isolated cardiac muscle and the other a "virtual cardiac muscle." The virtual muscle is represented by a computational model of cardiomyocyte electromechanical activity. We present in detail the computer-based digital control system that governs the mechanical interaction between virtual and biological muscle, the software used for data analysis, and working implementations of the model. Advantages of the hybrid duplex method are discussed, and experimental recordings are presented for illustration and as proof of the principle.

Original publication

DOI

10.1152/ajpheart.00306.2005

Type

Journal article

Journal

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol

Publication Date

12/2005

Volume

289

Pages

H2733 - H2746

Keywords

Animals, Anisotropy, Computer Simulation, Equipment Design, Equipment Failure Analysis, Heart, Models, Cardiovascular, Movement, Myocardial Contraction, Organ Culture Techniques, Physical Stimulation, Rabbits, Rats, Stress, Mechanical, Transducers