Electromechanical vortex filaments during cardiac fibrillation
Electromechanical vortex filaments during cardiac fibrillation
Nature 555, 7698 (2018). doi:10.1038/nature26001
Authors: J. Christoph, M. Chebbok, C. Richter, J. Schröder-Schetelig, P. Bittihn, S. Stein, I. Uzelac, F. H. Fenton, G. Hasenfuß, R. F. Gilmour Jr. & S. Luther
The self-organized dynamics of vortex-like rotating waves, which are also known as
scroll waves, are the basis of the formation of complex spatiotemporal patterns in
many excitable chemical and biological systems. In the
heart, filament-like phase singularities that are associated with
three-dimensional scroll waves are considered to be the organizing
centres of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. The mechanisms that underlie the onset, maintenance and control of electromechanical turbulence in the heart are inherently
three-dimensional phenomena. However, it has not previously been possible to
visualize the three-dimensional spatiotemporal dynamics of scroll waves inside
cardiac tissues. Here we show that three-dimensional mechanical scroll waves and
filament-like phase singularities can be observed deep inside the contracting heart
wall using high-resolution four-dimensional ultrasound-based strain imaging. We
found that mechanical phase singularities co-exist with electrical phase
singularities during cardiac fibrillation. We investigated the dynamics of
electrical and ...
Source: Nature - Category: Research Authors: J. Christoph M. Chebbok C. Richter J. Schr öder-Schetelig P. Bittihn S. Stein I. Uzelac F. H. Fenton G. Hasenfu ß R. F. Gilmour Jr. S. Luther Tags: Letter Source Type: research
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