A modified approach to retrieving cardiac conductivities in the presence of noise

Simulation studies of the electrical activity of the heart provide valuable insights into understanding cardiac diseases and conduction disorders. However, accurate parameters are crucial in the models used – in particular, the conductivity values of the commonly used bidomain model of cardiac tissue. Despite efforts over the past 40 years, complications associated with making and understanding experimental measurements have prevented researchers from retrieving conductivity parameters that are consistent and account for the anisotropic nature of cardiac tissue.

This talk presents a modified protocol that has been shown, in simulation studies, to retrieve the conductivities accurately while accounting for i) the anisotropy of cardiac tissue and ii) sensor noise inherent in experimental measurements made through multielectrode arrays. Comparisons of multielectrode arrays have been performed with the aid of this new protocol, with the long term aim of suggesting the most suitable multielectrode array configuration for obtaining cardiac conductivities to the highest possible accuracy.