Study on the control of spiral waves in coupled excitable media

Abstract

The control of spiral waves in three-layer coupled excitable media is studied by using the Bär model. The bidirectional coupling between adjacent layers is adopted. We use planar waves generated by a local periodic signal added to the second layer to eliminate spiral waves in the media. The numerical results show that when the couplings among three layer media meet some conditions the spiral waves in the media can be controlled. The control of spiral waves may be achieved by using the complementary coupling strategy. The interaction between planar wave and low-frequency spiral wave can produce high-frequency spiral wave, leading to failure to eliminate spiral waves. There exists an optimal drive width. Both larger and smaller drive width may need larger coupling strength between the first and third layers. The control results depending on the control opportunity are observed. We hope that this study will contribute to the design of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator.