An idealized human cardiomyocyte finite element model for studying the interaction between the cross-bridge state and cell mechanical response .

The mechanical state of cardiomyocyte is directly related to the structure and function of internal sarcomeres. In the field of computational cardiac mechanics, attempts to establish models of human cardiomyocyte with a detailed representation of sarcomere cross-bridge (XB) are rare. In this study, we established a computational model for a cardiomyocyte with idealized geometry while containing a representative sarcomere composed of thick filament, thin filament, titin filament, and Z-disc. The formation of XB with passive tension in the model was simulated with the finite element (FE) method, and stochastic FE analyses were further carried out in conjunction with six sigma analysis to explore the interaction between the S1 power stroke and the twitch mechanics of cardiomyocyte. The proposed modeling method may help us better understand the working state of cardiomyocyte, and offer a potential means for exploring the cell-level mechanisms of cardiac diseases.