Evaluation of ablation patterns using a biophysical model of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia. Surgical/Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a therapeutic procedure that consists of creating lines of conduction block to interrupt AF. The present study evaluated 13 different ablation patterns by means of a biophysical model of the human atria. In this model, ablation lines were abruptly applied transmurally during simulated sustained AF, and success rate, time to AF termination and average beat-to-beat interval were documented. The gold standard Cox's Maze III procedure was taken as reference. The effectiveness of twelve less invasive patterns was compared to it. In some of these incomplete lines (entailing a gap) were simulated. Finally, the computer simulations were compared to clinical data. The results show that the model reproduces observations made in vivo: (1) the Maze III is the most efficient ablation procedure; (2) less invasive patterns should include lines in both right and left atrium; (3) incomplete ablation lines between the pulmonary veins and the mitral valve annulus lead to uncommon flutter; (4) computer simulations of incomplete lines are consistent with clinical results of non-transumural RF ablation. Biophysical modeling may therefore be considered as a useful tool for understanding the mechanisms underlying AF therapies.