Control of spiral waves in myocardial tissue by optogenetics and temperature

Optogenetics as an emerging technology can eliminate spiral waves in myocardial tissue. The heat generated during illumination of myocardial tissue is an overlooked influence. Even small fluctuations in temperature may affect the action potentials of cardiomyocyte. In this paper, a minimal ventricular model and a simplified model of optogenetics are employed to study the effects of heat generation by illumination on elimination of spiral waves. The Luo-Rudy model and Channelrhodospin-2 light-sensitive ion channel model are used to validate our conclusions. We induce drift of spiral waves through inhomogeneities generated by discrete gradients of illumination. The inhomogeneity of temperature caused by gradient illumination can inhibit the elimination of spiral waves. Spiral waves in the myocardial medium can be induced to drift more efficiently by controlling temperature changes in the myocardial medium during illumination. We emphasized the importance of temperature factors in optogenetic experiments, hoping that our results could provide guidance for its clinical applications.