Ablation treatments

In-silico modelling of ablation treatments with specific focus on cardiac applications of radiofrequency and pulsed field ablation procedures

Motivation

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality worldwide, with cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation posing a significant clinical burden due to their high prevalence, complexity, and strong association with stroke and heart failure. Catheter-based ablation therapies have become a cornerstone treatment for arrhythmias, with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and, more recently, pulsed field ablation (PFA) being the most widely used techniques.

What Are RFA and PFA?

RFA employs thermal energy to eliminate aberrant electrical pathways in the heart by heating and destroying targeted tissue. In contrast, PFA uses high-voltage electric pulses to induce irreversible electroporation, selectively disrupting myocardial cells while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues such as nerves and blood vessels.

The Role of In-Silico Modelling

Our team develops in-silico models to replicate the electrical, thermal, and electroporation effects of ablation energy within detailed, patient-specific cardiac anatomies, accounting for tissue heterogeneity and complex biophysical processes. These simulations enable in-depth analysis of lesion formation and energy delivery. They allow us to explore how different procedural settings such as energy dose, pulse duration, and electrode positioning affect treatment outcomes. This understanding is essential for optimizing efficacy, minimizing collateral damage, and ensuring patient safety.

Working closely with cardiologists, we aim to deepen our understanding of lesion formation and help shape the future of cardiac electrophysiology by developing simulations that improve treatment planning and support more personalized patient care.

Team Members

Dr. Argyrios Petras

Postdoctoral Fellow
Minha Anees

PhD Student
Luca Pasini

PhD Student
Laura Füssel

MSc Student

Main Collaborators

Publications

Petras, A., Amoros Figueras, G., Moreno Weidmann, Z., García-Sánchez, T., Viladés Medel, D., Ivorra, A., Guerra, J. M., & Gerardo-Giorda, L. (2025). Is a single lethal electric field threshold sufficient to characterize the lesion size in computational modeling of cardiac pulsed-field ablation? Heart Rhythm O2. 10.1016/j.hroo.2025.02.014
Anees, M., Moreno Weidmann, Z., Viladés Medel, D., Guerra, J. M., Gerardo-Giorda, L., & Petras, A. (2025). Impact of the dispersive patch placement on dissipated power in radiofrequency ablation for pulmonary vein isolation via a virtual patient study. Scientific Reports, 15(1). 10.1038/s41598-025-90158-1
Bianconi, F., Leoni, M., Petras, A., Schena, E., Gerardo-Giorda, L., & Gizzi, A. (2025). Higher-order thermal modeling and computational analysis of laser ablation in anisotropic cardiac tissue. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 24(2), 559–577. 10.1007/s10237-025-01926-x
Leoni, M., Petras, A., Weidmann, Z. M., Guerra, J. M., & Gerardo-Giorda, L. (2024). Impact of Catheter Orientation on Cardiac Radiofrequency Ablation. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science (pp. 152–162). Springer Nature Switzerland. 10.1007/978-3-031-52448-6_15
Leoni, M., Petras, A., Moreno Weidmann, Z., M. Guerra Ramos, J., & Gerardo Giorda, L. (2023). Should I Tilt or Should I Push? Effect of Contact Force and Catheter Inclination in Cardiac Radiofrequency Ablation. In Computing in Cardiology Conference (CinC). 2023 Computing in Cardiology Conference. Computing in Cardiology. 10.22489/cinc.2023.036
Petras, A., Leoni, M., Guerra, J. M., & Gerardo-Giorda, L. (2023). Calibration of a three-state cell death model for cardiomyocytes and its application in radiofrequency ablation. Physiological Measurement, 44(6), 065003. 10.1088/1361-6579/acdcdd
Petras, A., Moreno Weidmann, Z., Echeverría Ferrero, M., Leoni, M., Guerra, J. M., & Gerardo-Giorda, L. (2022). Impact of electrode tip shape on catheter performance in cardiac radiofrequency ablation. Heart Rhythm O2, 3(6), 699–705. 10.1016/j.hroo.2022.07.014
Petras, Argyrios, Leoni, M., Moreno Weidmann, Z., M. Guerra, J., & Gerardo-Giorda, L. (2022). In silico assessment of a multipore electrode design for High Power Short Duration ablation. In Computing in Cardiology Conference (CinC). 2022 Computing in Cardiology Conference. Computing in Cardiology. 10.22489/cinc.2022.177
Molinari, L., Gerardo-Giorda, L., & Gizzi, A. (2022). A transversely isotropic thermo-hyperelastic constitutive model of myocardial tissue with a three-state cell death dynamics for cardiac radiofrequency ablation. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 161, 104810. 10.1016/j.jmps.2022.104810
Petras, A., Moreno Weidmann, Z., Leoni, M., Gerardo-Giorda, L., & Guerra, J. M. (2021). Systematic Characterization of High-Power Short-Duration Ablation: Insight From an Advanced Virtual Model. Frontiers in Medical Technology, 3. 10.3389/fmedt.2021.747609