# Patient-Directed Computational Analysis of Atrial Fibrillation

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2023 · $571,246

## Abstract

Patient-Directed Computational Analysis of Atrial Fibrillation
Project Summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and is a rapidly-growing
public health problem that currently affects over 30 million people world-wide
and more than 5 million people in the US. If left untreated, AF leads to an
increase in stroke, heart failure and mortality. Unfortunately, the mechanisms that
maintain AF remain poorly understood, hindering further improvement of current
therapy strategies. Recent studies, however, have revealed that AF may be
driven by rotational or focal sources and that targeting these sources using
localized ablation can result in promising long-term outcomes. Due to our
incomplete understanding of AF, however, this targeted ablation approach is not
always successful.
This project will test the novel hypothesis that AF is sustained by localized
rotational and focal sources with different size and temporal stability and that,
after these sources are removed, termination is not immediate but is maintained
by non-local mechanisms. We will address this hypothesis using a combined
computational/clinical approach that employs advanced multiscale computational
techniques and state-of-the-art clinical mapping. The project will 1) quantify AF
organization using patient-specific geometries; 2) determine whether some
rotational or focal sources are more important than others; 3) test possible
causes of AF maintenance and termination using patient-specific digital computer
models. We will use data from our unique and large patient registry, currently
totaling >500 patients.
This project is significant because it will establish a deeper understanding of AF
and might reveal novel mechanisms of AF maintenance. Our results can be
translated directly to practice and may enable the development of better
treatment options.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10610778
- **Project number:** 5R01HL122384-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** WOUTER-JAN RAPPEL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $571,246
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-01-12 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10610778

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10610778, Patient-Directed Computational Analysis of Atrial Fibrillation (5R01HL122384-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10610778. Licensed CC0.

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