Provision of information on electric measurement of heart

Abstract

To provide a mechanism for visually representing a heart.SOLUTION: A measurement value of an electric activity of a heart is received. Each measurement value is associated with a different part or a portion of a virtual model of the heart. A position at a place existing in each corresponding part / portion of the virtual model is corrected according to the measurement value corresponding to the electric activity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of cardiac monitoring, and more particularly to cardiac electrical measurements. [Background technology]

[0002] There is growing interest in and reliance on cardiac monitoring among medical professionals. In particular, it is becoming increasingly important to monitor the electrical activity of the heart (e.g., using an electrocardiogram) to monitor the condition of the heart and identify any erroneous or undesirable behavior.

[0003] A common technique for performing cardiac monitoring is electrocardiography, which produces an electrocardiogram (ECG). Typically, this involves placing several electrodes on the surface of the subject's skin and defining several voltages that represent different "angles" of the cardiac electrical potential. These angles are more commonly known as leads. One conventional form of ECG is called a 12-lead ECG. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is ongoing interest in improving the interpretability of electrocardiograms and reducing the risk of misdiagnosis or incorrect assessment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The invention is defined by the claims.

[0006] According to an example according to one aspect of the present invention, a computer-implemented method for providing a visual representation of a subject's heart is provided.

[0007] The computer-implemented method comprises: receiving a plurality of different electrical measurements in response to electrical activity of the heart; receiving a virtual model of the heart, wherein each electrical measurement is associated with a respective portion of the virtual model; for each electrical measurement, modifying the position of a respective portion of the virtual model relative to the remainder of the virtual model in response to the electrical measurement; providing a visual representation of the virtual model in an output user interface; It has.

[0008] It is proposed herein to modify the appearance of the virtual model of the heart to reflect changes in different regions of the heart associated with different electrical measurements. In particular, it is recognized that different electrical measurements may be associated with different parts of the heart. By modifying the positions of these parts of the heart in response to the electrical measurements, it is possible to effectively model changes in the electrical activity of the heart identified in the electrical measurements. This allows abnormal or undesirable electrical measurements to be easily identified and associated with their corresponding parts of the heart.

[0009] Thus, the present disclosure provides a mechanism for more readily flagging disturbances in specific locations or regions of the heart. In particular, by linking or correlating different parts or regions of the heart with different electrical measurements, disturbances or errors within the heart can be more readily identified.

[0010] The proposed approach allows a person skilled in the art to simultaneously see the (local) effects of different electrical measurements on the heart by looking at a single visual representation of a model of the heart, which allows for the simultaneous overview of several medical data.

[0011] In some examples, each electrical measurement is an electrocardiographic voltage of a different cardiographic lead, hi some examples, each electrocardiographic voltage is generated using one or more electrocardiographic electrodes positioned on the subject's skin.

[0012] Each electrical measurement may be the most recent available version of the electrical measurement, which facilitates active monitoring of local effects or conditions of the heart for more responsive and direct monitoring of the subject.

[0013] In some examples, modifying the position of the portion of the virtual model for each electrical measurement includes, for each point of the virtual model in the portion of the virtual model, moving the point of the virtual model in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the virtual model at the point, the distance the point is moved corresponding to the electrical measurement. This provides a direct modification to the virtual model of the heart that can be easily and intuitively identified by an operator. This movement mimics heart movement, facilitating the identification of acute changes identified in the electrical measurements.

[0014] The distance each point moves can correspond to a predetermined percentage of the electrical measurement.

[0015] The virtual model may be a mesh model of the heart, which provides an easily manipulated model that can be modified and altered according to electrical measurements.

[0016] The mesh model can define a plurality of nodes, each representing a different portion of the heart. The computer-implemented method further includes, for each node in a subset of the plurality of nodes of the mesh model, processing a plurality of different electrical measurements to determine motion of the portion of the heart represented by the node, the motion being attributable to motion of the heart indicated in the plurality of different electrical measurements, and modifying a position of the node in response to the determined motion of the node.

[0017] More specifically, the step of processing the plurality of different electrical measurements may include using a cardiac model to model a shape deformation of the heart and determining a movement of portions of the heart in response to the shape deformation of the heart.

[0018] It will be appreciated that different locations around the virtual model effectively represent different portions of the heart. The method may further comprise processing a plurality of different electrical measurements for each of a plurality of such locations around the virtual model to determine a respective motion of the portion of the heart represented by that location, the respective motion resulting from the heart motion indicated by the plurality of different electrical measurements. The method may further comprise modifying each location in response to the respective motion of the location.

[0019] This approach provides a technique for moving or manipulating locations or points on the virtual model to represent the expected motion of the entire heart, which provides a more accurate and appropriate identification of the motion of an individual's heart, for example, facilitating comparison of the motion of different parts of the heart.

[0020] In some examples, providing the visual representation of the virtual model in the output user interface includes visually distinguishing the visual representations of different portions of the cardiac model associated with different electrical measurements from one another, thereby making it easier to distinguish any effects indicated by the different electrical measurements from one another.

[0021] In some examples, the step of providing a visual representation of the virtual model in the output user interface includes visually distinguishing the visual representation of any portion of the cardiac model, including any portion associated with any electrical measurement, from any portion of the cardiac model, including any portion not associated with the electrical measurement.

[0022] In some examples, each of the multiple electrical measurements is sampled at the same or similar time.

[0023] Also provided is a computer-implemented method for providing a visual representation of a subject's heart, the method comprising: receiving a series of time-dependent data entries, each time-dependent data entry having a plurality of different electrical measurements responsive to electrical activity of the heart; and sequentially performing, for each time-dependent data entry, an instance of any of the methods described above, wherein the plurality of different electrical measurements received in performing the instance of the method comprises the plurality of different electrical measurements in the time-dependent data entries.

[0024] There is also provided a computer program product comprising computer program code means which, when executed on a computing device having a processing system, causes said processing system to perform all of the steps of a computer-implemented method according to any of the methods described above.

[0025] Also provided is a processing system for providing a visual representation of a subject's heart, the processing system configured to receive a plurality of different electrical measurements responsive to electrical activity of the heart, receive a virtual model of the heart, each electrical measurement associated with a respective portion of the virtual model, for each electrical measurement, modifying a position of the respective portion of the virtual model relative to the remainder of the virtual model in response to the electrical measurement, and providing the visual representation of the virtual model on an output user interface.

[0026] An output user interface system is also provided having a processing system and an output user interface.

[0027] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a system in which the embodiment is used. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the proposed method. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the hypothetical model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0030] While the detailed description and specific examples indicate exemplary embodiments of the devices, systems, and methods, it should be understood that they are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the devices, systems, and methods of the present invention will become better understood from the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the drawings are merely schematic and not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to indicate the same or similar parts.

[0031] The present invention provides a mechanism for visually representing the heart. Measurements of electrical activity of the heart are received. Each measurement is associated with a different part or portion of a virtual model of the heart. The location of each corresponding part / portion of the virtual model is modified in response to the corresponding measurement of electrical activity.

[0032] In the context of the present disclosure, a subject may be a medical subject, such as a patient in a medical facility (e.g., a clinic, hospital, ambulance, etc.), but may also be an individual, animal, or person outside such an environment, for example, an individual in a domestic environment.

[0033] In the context of this disclosure, a subset of a group of elements can include only some or a portion (ie, not all) of the group of elements, or the entire group of elements.

[0034] 1 shows a system 100 employed by the embodiment, which includes a cardiac monitoring system 110 and an output user interface 120, which is itself an embodiment.

[0035] Cardiac monitoring system 110 is configured to (repeatedly) generate a plurality of different electrical measurements in response to electrical activity of the heart of subject 190. For example, the cardiac monitoring system may include an electrocardiogram (ECG) system configured to record electrical signals generated by the heart.

[0036] In this manner, each electrical measurement may be an electrocardiographic voltage on a different cardiography lead, and more specifically, each electrocardiographic voltage is generated using one or more electrocardiographic electrodes positioned on the subject's skin.

[0037] The functionality of ECG systems is well known in the art, and a detailed description of such systems will not be provided for the sake of brevity. Nevertheless, it should be noted that ECG systems typically have multiple electrodes positioned on the skin surface of the subject 190. The voltage at each electrode is monitored and used to generate multiple different electrical measurements. More specifically, the magnitude of the cardiac electrical potential across different angles is measured to generate multiple lead voltages.

[0038] A typical ECG system is a 12-lead ECG system, which repeatedly generates 12 different electrical measurements of the heart (each representing a different view or lead of the heart). These measurements typically include six measurements generated by electrodes positioned on the subject's limbs and six measurements generated by electrodes positioned on the subject's chest (e.g., one measurement generated by each electrode positioned on the chest). Common labels for these leads (and therefore measurements) include I, II, III, aVR, aVL, aVF, V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, and V6.

[0039] ECG systems with additional leads (and therefore electrical measurements) are known. Other types of cardiac monitoring systems 110 and / or ECG systems are also known in the art.

[0040] The output user interface 120 comprises a processing system 121 (which is itself an embodiment of the proposed approach) and an output user interface 122 .

[0041] Processing system 121 is configured to receive the plurality of different electrical measurements, for example, directly from cardiac monitoring system 110 or from memory 130 that stores information generated by cardiac monitoring system 110. Processing system 121 processes the plurality of different electrical measurements and controls output user interface 122 to provide a visual representation of the plurality of different electrical measurements.

[0042] Each of the multiple electrical measurements received in this manner may be sampled at the same or similar time points by the cardiac monitoring system.

[0043] The output user interface 122 may, for example, include a screen that displays a visual representation of the plurality of different electrical measurements, or in some examples, a printer that provides a physical printout that provides a visual representation of the plurality of different electrical measurements.

[0044] Conventionally, a processing system simply plots each electrical measurement on a respective graph. The processing system repeatedly receives the different electrical measurements and, for each iteration, plots a different electrical measurement on a respective graph. Thus, each electrical measurement is associated with a different graph. For example, each graph may be a physical graph (e.g., a printout) or a virtual graph (e.g., a graphical representation on a display or screen of the graph).

[0045] The present disclosure provides alternative techniques for representing the plurality of different electrical measurements in an output user interface. In particular, the present disclosure proposes modifying a virtual model of the heart in response to the electrical measurements. This provides the clinician with information that directly links each electrical measurement to its location in the heart. This allows the clinician to more immediately understand the impact of a particular electrical measurement on the shape of the heart and provides the clinician with additional information not previously available.

[0046] Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes variations of the processing system 121, for example, for use in the system 100 outlined above.

[0047] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method 200 performed by a processing system, such as the processing system described above.

[0048] The method includes receiving 210 a plurality of different electrical measurements responsive to cardiac electrical activity. As described above, step 210 may be performed by receiving the plurality of different electrical measurements directly from a cardiac monitoring system (which generates the electrical measurements) or from a storage device / memory that stores the electrical measurements generated by the cardiac monitoring system.

[0049] Suitable examples of electrical measurements, such as those produced by an ECG system, are described above.

[0050] Preferably, each electrical measurement is the latest available version of the electrical measurement. In this way, the method allows for real-time updating of representations of a number of different electrical measurements at the output interface.

[0051] The method 200 also includes receiving 220 a virtual model of the heart, where each electrical measurement is associated with a respective portion of the virtual model.

[0052] The virtual model can be, for example, a generic model and / or a predefined model, such as a population average model, or a subject-specific model. Techniques for generating a subject-specific model of a subject's heart, such as segmenting cardiac imaging data (e.g., using the techniques disclosed in WO 2017 / 109662) and / or mapping the heart using data generated by an interventional device located within the heart (e.g., the EPD Solutions navigation system offered by Philips®, referred to as the KODEX-EPD® system), are known in the art.

[0053] Virtual models of anatomical structures are well known in the art. A typical virtual model can be embodied as a mesh model. The mesh model defines a number of vertices (also known as points or nodes), edges, and / or faces that define the shape of the virtual model.

[0054] The virtual model may be received from a memory or from a virtual model generator, which may generate the model according to any of the techniques described above.

[0055] 3 shows an example of a virtual model of the heart 300. The virtual model is embodied as a mesh model, specifically a triangular mesh that defines a number of distinct nodes / vertices. Surfaces can be placed on the triangular mesh to represent the shape of the anatomical structure.

[0056] Each electrical measurement is associated with a respective portion of the virtual model, and in particular, each electrical measurement is necessarily associated with a different portion or part of the subject's heart.

[0057] For example, if an electrical measurement represents a voltage measured at a particular electrode, the known or expected location of that electrode can be associated with a known portion of the virtual model. For example, if the electrode that produced the electrical measurement is expected to be placed over a particular portion of the heart, then that electrical measurement can be associated with the portion of the virtual model that represents that particular portion of the heart.

[0058] In some examples, if the electrical measurement represents a voltage measured at a particular electrode, the known or expected location of this electrode can be associated with a portion of the virtual model representing the region of the heart closest to the known or expected location of this electrode.

[0059] As an example, consider a scenario in which each electrical measurement is an electrical measurement for a respective lead of a 12-lead ECG system. Each lead of the 12-lead ECG system has a predefined label that is well established in the art. Table 1 shows the relationship between the lead label (and the electrical measurement associated with that label) and the region of the heart to which the electrical measurement responds. Each region of the heart can be associated with a corresponding portion of a virtual model of the heart. This provides an example of how electrical measurements can be associated with a particular portion or region of the virtual model of the heart. [Table 1]

[0060] The data used to create Table 1 can be found in Rafla, Samir, and Amr Kamal, “Localization of the occluded vessel in acute myocardial infarction.” J Cardiol Cardiovasc Med 5 (2020): 029-33.

[0061] Other methods and techniques for correlating electrical measurements of the heart with particular portions of a virtual model of the heart will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0062] 2, method 200 also includes, for each electrical measurement, step 230 of modifying the position of the respective portion of the virtual model relative to the remainder of the virtual model in response to the electrical measurement. In this manner, the virtual model is changed or modified to reflect changes in the electrical measurement, thereby providing the model of the heart with a direct representation of changes in the electrical measurement of the heart.

[0063] Method 200 also includes providing a visual representation of the virtual model in an output user interface at step 240. Techniques for performing step 240 will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and may include rendering the virtual model to generate display data and using the display data to control the output user interface to provide the visual representation of the virtual model.

[0064] It will be appreciated that method 200 may be repeated iteratively, for example, to iteratively update the virtual model with the latest available data from electrical measurements and / or to step through a series of multiple electrical measurements (e.g., stored data).

[0065] Thus, there is a sequence of time-dependent data entries, each having a set of electrical measurements (i.e., instances of multiple electrical measurements), which represent different values ​​of the electrical measurements taken over a period of time.

[0066] Thus, a computer-implemented method is provided that includes receiving a sequence of time-dependent data entries, each data entry having a plurality of different electrical measurements responsive to electrical activity of the heart. For each time-dependent data entry, an instance of method 200 can be performed in sequence. In each instance, the plurality of different electrical measurements received while performing the instance of the method comprises the plurality of different electrical measurements in the time-dependent data entry.

[0067] In this way, the virtual model can represent dynamics (shape changes) over time, which advantageously provides additional information about the shape of the heart that was previously unavailable from the ECG tracing alone.

[0068] One technique for performing step 230 is described below.

[0069] In this approach, step 230 includes (for each electrical measurement) moving each point in the corresponding portion of the virtual model in a direction normal to the surface of the virtual model at that point. The distance the point moves can correspond to the electrical measurement.

[0070] In particular, consider a scenario in which the virtual model is a mesh model that defines a plurality of nodes. Each node is associated with a respective location or position in three-dimensional space. Step 230 can include, for each electrical measurement, using the electrical measurement to define a new location or position for each node in three-dimensional space. In this manner, the position of each node is modified.

[0071] In a very simple way, step 230 is performed by calculating the following equation (1):

number

number

[0072] It is understood that if only equation (1) is applied for each node i, then nodes that are not part of the virtual model (associated with the electrical measurements) will not move, and therefore only an incomplete subset of the nodes in the virtual model will move.

[0073] It is readily possible to define the normal or perpendicular direction vector of the virtual model at a particular node using established techniques, such as the technique proposed by A. Ubach, C. Estruch, and J. Garcia-Espinosa, “On the interpolation of normal vectors for triangle meshes,” International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, vol. 96, no. 4, pp. 247-268, Sep. 2013, doi: 10.1002 / nme.4567.

[0074] In a more complex example, each electrical measurement m is related to its own direction vector

number

number

[0075] In this example, step 230

number

[0076] The weight k given in Equation (1) and Equation (2) T(m) is used to control the influence that each electrical measurement has on each node. At different node locations, the magnitude and nature of the motion will inevitably be different due to the cardiac muscle and its structure, which is why the weights k T (m) The weight values ​​may be referenced from a real beating heart.

[0077] Of course, when using equation (2), it is understood that nodes that are not part of the virtual model (associated with the electrical measurements) will not move, and therefore only an incomplete subset of the nodes of the virtual model will move.

[0078] To improve the similarity to the real heart and thereby improve the understanding of any adverse effects on the heart, it is possible to determine the motion of the heart that is used to control the virtual model. In particular, each point of the virtual model is controlled to resemble or replicate the motion of the heart as indicated by multiple electrical measurements.

[0079] Thus, method 200 may further include processing 250 the different electrical measurements to determine, for each of a plurality of locations around the virtual model, a respective movement of the portion of the heart represented by the location on the virtual model resulting from the movement of the heart indicated in the different electrical measurements. The method may further include modifying 260 each location in response to the respective movement of the location. Step 260 may be at least partially incorporated into step 230.

[0080] This technique measures cardiac motion resulting from the cardiac cycle. i The aim is to simulate the cardiac motion, which provides a baseline for motion control.

[0081] In some examples, each of the multiple locations is a different node i of a mesh model that serves as a virtual model.

number

[0082] In a simple model, SR(.) is the electrical measurement V along the normal or perpendicular direction to the surface of the virtual model at the location of node i. j can be a function with an output value that varies with the value of P i The value of is ignored and k c = 1). However, the effect of cardiac motion on the electrical measurements (and hence vice versa) is i This difference is due to the modifier k for node i. c can be defined using

[0083] In particular, SR(.) can represent a function that modifies the nodes of the virtual model according to normal sinus rhythm. In this way, modifying the node positions using SR(.) effectively acts to modify the position of each node to resemble or replicate the heart's standard or baseline sinus rhythm. For example, a predefined function such as SR(.) can effectively include a definition of how exactly each node should move based on a given amplitude extracted from voltage information. More specifically, the function SR(.) is adapted to process all available electrical measurements to determine the expected movement of the i-th node of the heart. One example of a suitable algorithm for functioning as SR(.) utilizes the ST / AR algorithm developed by Philips®.

[0084] In one embodiment, the function SR(.) is configured to extract cardiac mechanics information and / or PQRST waves from a plurality of different electrical measurements. This cardiac mechanics information is used as part of the function SR(.) to generate a cardiac mechanical cycle model of the heart from a predefined sinus rhythm model or function that defines how far each node should move based on the cardiac mechanics information and / or PQRST waves.

[0085] More specifically, the function SR(.) can process multiple different electrical measurements and effectively determine cardiac shape deformation (e.g., changes in cardiac shape) by using a predefined model of cardiac motion. Of course, if the electrical measurements do not follow conventional or expected sinus rhythm (e.g., if there are no PQRST waves to be recognized in a series of multiple electrical measurements), a function different from SR(.) can be used to determine modifications to the positions of the nodes present in the virtual model. For example, during ventricular tachycardia (VT), R waves can still be recognized, but other waves are difficult to distinguish. Special control methods can be implemented (e.g., by replacing the function SR(.) with a different function VT(.)) so that the model can function to match this behavior without recognizing all waves. Techniques for identifying types of cardiac function by processing electrical measurements (e.g., sinus rhythm, VT, atrial fibrillation, etc.) are well known in the art.

[0086] Therefore, C i The value of is calculated using a function that depends on the cardiac function of the heart, for example, as indicated by a time series of data entries, each of which includes multiple electrical measurements of the heart.

[0087] Therefore, the position D of node i I is calculated in step 230 if step 260 is included:

number

[0088] T i Techniques for calculating σ are described above, for example, in equations (1) and (2).

[0089] Local operation T i Although provides acute information, cardiac modifications are also important to provide general information about the state of the heart and can indicate pathologies such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation.

[0090] By controlling the movement of the virtual model based on measurements of electrical activity, parts of the virtual model move accordingly in real time, providing additional information that was previously not available or apparent to a clinician looking at only the ECG tracing.

[0091] As shown in Equation (2) and Equation (3), T i and C i The value of is determined by the appropriate weight parameter k t , k c In some embodiments, the weighting or modification is performed using T i k t and k c The value of k c As the value of k decreases t In particular, the value of k t The value of Λ can increase as the portion of the heart representing node i approaches the expected or known location of the electrode.

[0092] The proposed approach provides a mechanism for calculating the movement of positions or locations on a virtual model, in particular the movement of nodes of the virtual model, including information on how to compensate for the absence of electrical measurements associated with a particular position on the virtual model.

[0093] Providing the visual representation of the virtual model in the output user interface in step 240 may include visually distinguishing the visual representations of different portions of the cardiac model associated with different electrical measurements from one another, which may be achieved, for example, using different colors, intensities, contrasts, and / or any other visually distinguishable characteristics.

[0094] Providing the visual representation of the virtual model in the output user interface in step 240 can include visually distinguishing the visual representation of any portion of the cardiac model, including portions associated with any electrical measurements, from any portion of the cardiac model, including portions not associated with electrical measurements, to help indicate the absence of an acute signal in a particular region or area of ​​the heart to improve understanding of the visual representation by a clinician or other observer.

[0095] The visual representation of the virtual model (provided in step 240) may be user or operator manipulable. In particular, the visual representation on the screen may be rotated in response to user input at the user input interface, allowing the clinician to view different elements or portions of the virtual model for enhanced understanding.

[0096] Thus, the method may further comprise step 270 of receiving user input, if present, identifying a desired view of the virtual model. Step 240 may comprise controlling a visual representation of the virtual model to provide said desired view of the virtual model.

[0097] When the method 200 is repeated iteratively, for example using the most recent available electrical measurements, real-time virtual model movement can be displayed in an output user interface.

[0098] The proposed method provides a representation of electrical activity measurements in a more intuitive and informative way than traditional ECG. While traditional ECGs show signals in multiple graphs with abstract lines, the proposed (dynamic) model shows signals through the movement, expansion, and contraction of a visual representation of a virtual model. Each electrical measurement is represented through a different region of the model. A single model can provide all information about the heart. The presentation of data and diagnostic results is visually easier to understand and faster to recognize.

[0099] Those skilled in the art can readily develop a processing system to perform any of the methods described herein, and each step in the flowchart thus represents a different operation performed by a processing system and can be performed by a respective module of the processing system.

[0100] Accordingly, embodiments may utilize a processing system. The processing system may be implemented in various ways using software and / or hardware to perform the various functions required. A processor is one example of a processing system that uses one or more microprocessors that are programmed using software (e.g., microcode) to perform the required functions. However, a processing system may be implemented with or without a processor, or may be implemented as a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and a processor (one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry) to perform other functions.

[0101] Examples of processing system components that may be used in various embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, conventional microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0102] In various embodiments, a processor or processing system may be associated with one or more storage media, e.g., volatile and non-volatile computer memory such as RAM, PROM, EPROM, and EEPROM. The storage media may be encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on the one or more processors and / or processing systems, perform the required functions. The various storage media may be installed within the processor or processing system or may be transportable such that the one or more programs stored on the storage media are read into the processor or processing system.

[0103] It is understood that the disclosed methods are preferably computer-implemented methods. As such, the concept of a computer program having code means for performing any of the methods described when said program is run on a processing system, e.g., a computer. Thus, different parts, lines or blocks of code of a computer program according to an embodiment can be executed by a processing system or a computer in order to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0104] Also proposed is a non-transitory storage medium that stores or carries a computer program or computer code that, when executed by a processing system, causes the processing system to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0105] In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block diagrams or flowcharts may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.

[0106] Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0107] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the absence of a plurality does not exclude a plurality. When the term "adapted for" is used in the claims or the description, it is meant to be synonymous with the term "configured for." When the term "arrangement" is used in the claims or the description, it is meant to be synonymous with the term "system," and vice versa.

[0108] A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. Where a computer program is described above, the computer program can be stored / distributed on a suitable medium, for example an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, for example via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunications systems.

[0109] Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented method for providing a visual representation of a subject's heart, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a plurality of different electrical measurements responsive to the electrical activity of the heart; receiving a virtual model of the heart, wherein each electrical measurement is associated with a respective portion of the virtual model; for each electrical measurement, modifying the position of the respective portion of the virtual model relative to the remainder of the virtual model in response to the electrical measurement; providing a visual representation of the virtual model in an output user interface; 10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each electrical measurement is an electrocardiographic voltage on a different cardiography lead.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein each electrocardiography voltage is generated using one or more electrocardiography electrodes positioned on the subject's skin.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each electrical measurement is the latest available version of the electrical measurement.

5. modifying the position of the portion of the virtual model for each electrical measurement, 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: for each point of the virtual model in the portion of the virtual model, moving the point of the virtual model in a direction normal to a surface of the virtual model at that point, the distance the point is moved corresponding to the electrical measurement.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the distance traveled for each point corresponds to a predetermined percentage of the electrical measurement.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual model is a mesh model of the heart.

8. the mesh model defines a plurality of nodes, each node representing a different portion of the heart; and The computer-implemented method includes, for each node in the subset of nodes of the mesh model: processing the plurality of different electrical measurements to determine motion of the portion of the heart represented by the node, the motion being attributable to cardiac motion indicated in the plurality of different electrical measurements; modifying the position of the node in response to the determined movement of the node; The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising:

9. 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing a visual representation of the virtual model in an output user interface comprises visually distinguishing the visual representations of different portions of the cardiac model associated with different electrical measurements from one another.

10. 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing a visual representation of the virtual model in an output user interface comprises visually distinguishing a visual representation of any portion of the cardiac model, including a portion associated with any electrical measurement, from any portion of the cardiac model, including a portion not associated with an electrical measurement.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of electrical measurements is sampled at the same or similar time.

12. 1. A computer-implemented method for providing a visual representation of a subject's heart, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a sequence of time-dependent data entries, each data entry having a plurality of different electrical measurements responsive to electrical activity of the heart; 12. A computer-implemented method comprising the steps of: performing, for each time-dependent data entry, an instance of the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 in sequence; wherein the plurality of different electrical measurements received in performing the instance of the method comprises the plurality of different electrical measurements in the time-dependent data entry.

13. A computer program product comprising computer program code means which, when executed on a computing device having a processing system, causes said processing system to perform all of the steps of the computer-implemented method of any of claims 1 to 12.

14. 1. A processing system for providing a visual representation of a subject's heart, the processing system comprising: receiving a plurality of different electrical measurements in response to the cardiac electrical activity; receiving a virtual model of the heart, wherein each electrical measurement is associated with a respective portion of the virtual model; for each electrical measurement, modifying the position of a respective portion of the virtual model relative to the remainder of the virtual model in response to the electrical measurement; providing a visual representation of said virtual model in an output user interface; a processing system configured to:

15. A processing system according to claim 14; the output user interface; An output user interface system comprising:

Images