Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 3: Mechanics and Dynamics of 3D Tissues - Joint Focus Session (BP/CPP/DY) organized by Peter Loskill

BP 3.6: Talk

Monday, March 20, 2017, 11:45–12:00, SCH A251

Electromechanical Turbulence in the Heart — •Jan Christoph and Stefan Luther — Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany

The self-organizing pattern forming mechanisms underlying highly life-threatening cardiac fibrillation are still insufficiently understood. High-speed fluorescence imaging provides highly detailed visualizations of the spatio-temporal electrophysiological activity of the heart. During ventricular fibrillation, these visualizations depict complex spatio-temporal electrical patterns including rotating vortices or spiral waves on the heart's surface. However, with limited penetration depths of fluorescence imaging the optically mapped surface dynamics reflect only the superficial projection of three-dimensional wave phenomena that evolve within the depths of the cardiac muscle.

We combined fluorescence imaging with ultrasound to study the coupled electrical and mechanical activity of the fibrillating heart on its surface as well as within the heart wall. We found that during fibrillation electrical activity patterns and elasto-mechanical deformations are highly correlated producing co-localized patterns of electrical and mechanical activation. Specifically, we found that electrical spiral wave rotors can be accompanied by rotational elasto-mechanical patterns, which like fingerprints of vortex activity occur as a characteristic feature within the deformations of the fibrillating muscle. Our data highlights the importance of studying the mechanics and dynamics of 3D cardiac tissues to obtain a better understanding of cardiac arrhythmias and to conceptualize novel diagnostic and therapeutical strategies.