Combating Heart Disease with FEA

Biomedical researchers are combining electrostatic finite element analysis (FEA) software with laboratory testing to improve treatments for arrhythmia. The researchers used Algor's Superdraw Ill, a precision finite-element model-building tool, to model a 100-by-100-centimeter sheet, which represented a conductive area of the heart. They applied a resistivity value based on a thickness of 1cm to simulate a uniform resistance over heart fibers. The finite element model showed that current through the element faces at the ends of the electrodes was 151 percent larger than current near the electrode center. The researchers also used FEA to determine that the length of the line electrode does not affect the current distribution. In order to confirm the results of the analysis and further test the positioning of the electrode with respect to heart fibers, researchers applied line electrodes in varying positions andorientations on 13 hearts from New Zealand rabbits. Finally, researchers could determine the distribution of the change in transmembrane voltage from a line electrode, made up of a summation of points, using electrostatic analysis.