| | Our research involves the development of computational models and biologic experiments to investigate the electrical activity of the heart. We concentrate our efforts towards the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia called fibrillation, which claims the lives of 225,000 US citizens a year. Collapse and sudden death will occur unless immediate defibrillation therapy is given. Defibrillation therapy is given in the form of a strong electric shock to revert fibrillation back to the heart's normal rhythm. Defibrillation therapy has saved lives for almost 50 years, yet the underlying mechanisms of defibrillation are still poorly understood. In our models and experiments, we use the engineering principles of electromagnetic field theory, signal processing, and numerical analysis to further the understanding of the defibrillation process on the organ, tissue, and cellular levels. We investigate defibrillation mechanisms with ultrasound and conductance catheter techniques. Other projects include optimizing electrode placement using a computer model of the human torso and determining electrophysiologic characteristics of cardiac fibrosis with implantable radiotelemetry devices. |
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