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The Bidomain Theory of Stimulation

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Cardiac Bioelectric Therapy

Abstract

The implantable cardiac pacemaker is one of the most important medical innovations of the twentieth century. Yet until recently, researchers have not understood the basic mechanisms governing how a pacemaker excites the heart. The development of a mathematical model describing the electrical properties of cardiac tissue—the bidomain model—helped unravel these mechanisms. This chapter outlines several important predictions of the bidomain model related to pacemakers, including make and break excitation, the shape of the strength-interval curve, the no-response phenomenon, the effect of potassium on pacing, the time dependence of the refractory period, and burst pacing.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Deborah L. Janks & Bradley J. Roth

Authors
  1. Deborah L. Janks
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  2. Bradley J. Roth
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Correspondence to Bradley J. Roth .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Igor R. Efimov

  2. National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Fu Siong Ng

  3. Philips EPD Solutions, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jacob I. Laughner

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Janks, D.L., Roth, B.J. (2021). The Bidomain Theory of Stimulation. In: Efimov, I.R., Ng, F.S., Laughner, J.I. (eds) Cardiac Bioelectric Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63355-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63355-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63354-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63355-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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