Abnormal LAT Difference Identification in Cardiac Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing local activation time (LAT) maps of the heart fail to immediately identify abnormal regions, as interpolation can lead to erroneous results and obscure unusual LAT values, particularly reduced conduction wave velocities indicative of abnormalities.
Innovation Solution
A processor is configured to calculate interpolated local times of occurrence and mark them on the map, divide the chamber into contiguous surfaces, and calculate conduction wave velocities at borders between these surfaces, using electrocardiograph signals to color the map and indicate abnormal regions with a different color if velocities fall below a preset threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If interpolation is used to generate LAT maps, then the map can be produced with continuous data coverage, but the interpolation can lead to erroneous results and obscure abnormal LAT values
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber is divided into multiple contiguous surfaces, each surrounding a respective location. This segmentation allows the system to process and analyze different regions separately, preventing interpolation errors from obscuring abnormal values in any particular region while maintaining continuous data coverage across the entire chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different processing treatments to different regions: interpolated LAT values are calculated for most areas to maintain continuous coverage, but abnormal regions are identified and marked with distinctive indicators (such as different colors or symbols) to preserve their unique characteristics and prevent them from being obscured by standard interpolation.
2Ease of operation
If conventional LAT maps are produced, then the map provides a visual representation of activation times, but abnormal regions with reduced conduction velocities are not immediately identifiable
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates color coding into the LAT map visualization, where different colors represent different conduction velocity ranges. Abnormal regions with reduced conduction velocities are displayed in distinctive colors that immediately stand out from normal regions, allowing physicians to quickly identify problematic areas without additional maps or complex analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculation of conduction velocities and identification of abnormal regions during the map generation process itself, rather than requiring separate analysis steps. This preliminary action embeds the detection capability directly into the visualization, making abnormal regions immediately identifiable when the map is displayed.
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus, consisting of a catheter that is configured to be inserted into a chamber of a heart and that has one or more electrodes configured to contact myocardial tissue at multiple locations in the chamber. The one or more electrodes receive electrical signals responsive to a conduction wave traveling through the tissue. The apparatus includes a display and a processor that is configured to receive the electrical signals from the catheter and to render to the display, responsively to the electrical signals, a map of the chamber including an indication of local times of occurrence of the conduction wave at the multiple locations. The processor is also configured to calculate, responsively to the local times of occurrence, a velocity of the conduction wave between the locations and to mark on the map one or more areas of the chamber in which the velocity is below a preset threshold.