Mathematics Colloquia and Seminars

Return to Colloquia & Seminar listing

Mathematical model have been used to study the cellular basis of contraction of the heart for over 50 years. These models have become more sophisticated over the years but primarily consist of systems of ordinary differential equations. Such models have been used in large scale simulation of the whole heart build from cellular components. A shortcoming of these ODE models is that they do not capture pertinent cellular phenomena that can be simulated using stochastic models. Traditionally, stochastic models are solved using Monte Carlo Methods which can be quite computationally intensive. In our work we develop stochastic models and computational and mathematical algorithms that increase computational speed up to 10,000 fold over standard Monte Carlo Simulations. This will enable us to use these new models to explore mechanisms of arrhythmia, possible corrective interventions, and consider the application to large scale simulation of networks of cells.