A second-order algorithm for solving dynamic cell membrane equations

IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2009 Oct;56(10):2546-8. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2009.2014739. Epub 2009 Feb 20.

Abstract

This paper describes an extension of the so-called Rush-Larsen scheme, which is a widely used numerical method for solving dynamic models of cardiac cell electrophysiology. The proposed method applies a local linearization of nonlinear terms in combination with the analytical solution of linear ordinary differential equations to obtain a second-order accurate numerical scheme. We compare the error and computational load of the second-order scheme to the original Rush-Larsen method and a second-order Runge-Kutta (RK) method. The numerical results indicate that the new method outperforms the original Rush-Larsen scheme for all the test cases. The comparison with the RK solver reveals that the new method is more efficient for stiff problems.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • Cardiac Electrophysiology / methods*
  • Cell Membrane / physiology*
  • Dogs
  • Heart Atria / cytology
  • Heart Ventricles / cytology
  • Humans
  • Models, Biological*
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Myocardium / cytology*