Cardiac Phase Interpolation Using Reference Cycle Scaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cardiac MRI synchronization methods using ECG signals struggle to precisely determine cardiac phases, especially in patients with arrhythmic cycles due to the lack of clear electrical activity marking the end of the cardiac cycle interval.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method for cardiac phase interpolation that scales and interpolates ECG measurement signals to align cardiac cycles with a reference cycle, using model parameters determined from differences between scaled time series to minimize errors and accurately define cardiac phase start and end times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ECG signals are used for cardiac phase determination, then synchronization with cardiac motion is achieved, but precise determination of cardiac phases cannot be made in arrhythmic patients due to lack of clear electrical activity marking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using a reference cardiac cycle as a template and comparing actual ECG cycles against this reference. The reference cycle serves as a mediator that provides clear phase markers even when actual arrhythmic cycles lack distinct electrical features, enabling precise phase determination through template matching rather than direct ECG analysis alone
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter approach by transforming ECG signals from raw electrical measurements to normalized time-series data that is scaled and interpolated to match a reference cycle. This parameter transformation allows arrhythmic cycles with variable durations and unclear features to be mapped onto a standardized phase framework, improving measurement precision while maintaining synchronization reliability
2Measurement precision
If cardiac cycles are scaled and interpolated to align with reference cycle, then cardiac phase alignment precision is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the cardiac cycle into distinct temporal segments (e.g., filling phase, ejection phase, valve closure events) and processing each segment separately through scaling and interpolation. This segmentation allows complex transformations to be applied locally to manageable time intervals, reducing overall computational burden while maintaining precise phase alignment across the entire cycle
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary action by pre-establishing a reference cardiac cycle template before processing actual patient data. This reference template is created once and then reused for multiple scaling and interpolation operations, significantly reducing computational complexity compared to performing complex algorithms on each arrhythmic cycle independently
Data Source
AI summary
A method for adapting, per cardiac cycle, the parameters governing interpolation of varying and non-interpolation of fixed fractions of each individual cardiac cycle is provided. A time series of data values associated with a cardiac cycle is received, and the time series is scaled to a reference cardiac cycle, wherein the scaling includes applying a model to the time series to generate a scaled time series of data values associated with the first cardiac cycle. The model is trained using the scaled time series.