Personalized Modeling Pipeline For Left Atrial Electromechanics

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a supraventricular tach-yarrhythmia characterized by uncoordinated atrial activation with consequent deterioration of mechanical function. Personalized computational modeling provides a novel framework for integrating and interpreting the combined role of atrial electrophysiology and mechanics in AF development and sustenance. Coronary computed tomography angiography data were segmented using a threshold-based approach and the smoothed voxel representation was discretized into a high-resolution tetrahedral finite element (FE) mesh. To estimate the complex left atrial fiber architecture, individual fiber fields were generated according to morphological data on the endo-and epicardial surfaces based on local solutions of Laplace's equation and trans-murally interpolated to all tetrahedral elements. Personalized geometrical models included the heterogeneous thickness distribution of the left atrial myocardium and subsequent discretization led to high-fidelity tetrahedral FE meshes. The novel algorithm for (automated) incorporation of the left atrial fiber architecture provided a realistic estimate of the atrial microstructure and was able to qualitatively capture all important fiber bundles. The established modeling pipeline provides a robust framework for the rapid development of personalized model cohorts and facilitates simulations of atrial electromechanics.