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Construction of an in vitro model system for the anatomical reentry phenomenon of cardiac tissues by using microfabrication techniques
Author(s) -
Yasukawa Akane,
Takayama Yuzo,
Suzuki Takafumi,
Mabuchi Kunihiko
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ieej transactions on electrical and electronic engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.254
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1931-4981
pISSN - 1931-4973
DOI - 10.1002/tee.21859
Subject(s) - reentry , in vitro , biomedical engineering , myocyte , excitation , neuroscience , computer science , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , medicine , biology , engineering , electrical engineering , biochemistry
Abstract Anatomical reentry has been identified as a major cause of clinical cardiac arrhythmia. The probability for anatomical reentry is strongly dependent on the structures and cell characteristics of the causal cardiac regions. In this paper, we propose a simple in vitro model system for analyzing and simulating the anatomical reentry phenomenon in cardiac tissues. Rat ventricular myocytes were cultured and aligned in predesigned structures by using a microcontact printing method. Excitation propagation in the cultures was visualized and evaluated by applying electrical stimulation and the calcium imaging technique. We confirmed that differences between passage times along the two excitation pathways were modulated by changing the structures of cultured myocytes. This simple in vitro model system will be useful for studying the anatomical reentry phenomenon. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.