Latencies in action potential stimulation in a two-dimensional bidomain : a numerical simulation

A numerical simulation is performed in which a uniform planar slab of idealized cardiac tissue is stimulated at the center. The cardiac slab is modeled as an anisotropic bidomain; within each domain current flow is determined by a forced diffusion equation in which the transmembrane current connecting the domains provides the forcing term. An action potential (AP) propagates outward after a time latency dependent upon the stimulus size and the physiological variables. Its isochrones are elliptical with an asymmetry that is a small fraction of the imposed asymmetry in resistivity. External voltages resemble the first derivative of those in the internal domain and tests with continuing stimuli exhibit a relaxation time of about 3 ms and space constants that agree with other work. The AP latency increases very strongly near threshold stimulus and decreases as the log (stimulus) for large stimuli in the ‘‘virtual cathode’’ range. Latencies in the longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal directions are found to be the same over a wide range of stimulus size and type.