[Computer models of the electrophysiological properties of the heart]

Computer models of the heart can improve the understanding of the electrophysiological processes in healthy and diseased heart. They become more and more important for detailed diagnosis of arrhythmias and for optimization of therapy. Models of myocardium cells known today are described--they are based on the properties of all relevant ion channels in the cell membrane. Then it is demonstrated, how many cells can be joined to form a cell patch and how finally the complete heart can be modelled. A simpler approach is using a so called cellular automation that allows for a significant reduction of calculation time while sacrificing some accordance to reality. Adaptive cellular automations allow for a fast simulation with acceptable accuracy. Using them some results were gained for the simulation of typical arrhythmias, in the field of validation using an animal model and for therapy planning with RF-ablation.