The openCARP simulation environment for cardiac electrophysiology

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2021.106223
• Publication Date: 2021-06-08T03:27:11Z
• Authors: Gernot Plank; Axel Loewe; Aurel Neic; Christoph Augustin; Yung-Lin Huang; Matthias A.F. Gsell; Elias Karabelas; Mark Nothstein; Anton J. Prassl; Jorge Sánchez; Gunnar Seemann; Edward J. Vigmond
• Keywords: Cardiac Electrophysiology; Python

AbstractBackground and ObjectiveCardiac electrophysiology is a medical specialty with a long and rich tradition of computational modeling. Nevertheless, no community standard for cardiac electrophysiology simulation software has evolved yet. Here, we present theopenCARPsimulation environment as one solution that could foster the needs of large parts of this community.Methods and ResultsopenCARPand the Python-basedcarputilsframework allow developing and sharing simulation pipelines which automatein silicoexperiments including all modeling and simulation steps to increase reproducibility and productivity. The continuously expandingopenCARPuser community is supported by tailored infrastructure. Documentation and training material facilitate access to this complementary research tool for new users. After a brief historic review, this paper summarizes requirements for a high-usability electrophysiology simulator and describes howopenCARPfulfills them. We introduce theopenCARPmodeling workflow in a multi-scale example of atrial fibrillation simulations on single cell, tissue, organ and body level and finally outline future development potential.ConclusionAs an open simulator,openCARPcan advance the computational cardiac electrophysiology field by making state-of-the-art simulations accessible. In combination with thecarputilsframework, it offers a tailored software solution for the scientific community and contributes towards increasing use, transparency, standardization and reproducibility ofin silicoexperiments.