Two-scale asymptotic analysis for modeling activation of periodic cardiac strand (Q1196511)

This work explores the applicability of two-scale asymptotic analysis to model the excitable cardiac strand with periodic discontinuities. The strand is composed of 60 cells connected by junctions. The membrane excitability is modeled using \textit{L. Ebihara} and \textit{E. A. Johnson's} equations [Biophys. J. 32, 779-790 (1980)]. The problem is described by a nonlinear parabolic equation with one parameter, intracellular conductivity, changing periodically in space. Using two-scale asymptotic analysis, the transmembrane potential is given as a two-scale expansion in powers of the period length. The series converges rapidly, and the solution containing only zero- and first-order terms has a negligible error. Each term of the expansion is found by solving the differential equation derived by decomposing the original problem. The periodic, first-order term is given by a linear elliptic equation and has a closed- form solution. The aperiodic, zero-order term is the solution of a nonlinear parabolic equation corresponding to the cardiac strand with homogenized intracellular conductivity; this equation is solved numerically using the Crank-Nicolson method modified to account for the presence of the periodic term.