Elastic Model Adaptation for Cardiac Tissue Deformation Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods fail to non-invasively and effectively visualize and characterize the spatial-temporal dynamics of cardiac tissue during fibrillation, particularly the correlation between mechanical and electrical activity, which is crucial for understanding and treating arrhythmias like ventricular fibrillation.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that use imaging techniques to track shifts in cardiac tissue over time, adapting an elastic model to describe temporal deformations and correlating these with electrical activity patterns, allowing for the identification of centers of rotation and other activity patterns, and providing a tool for therapeutic targeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors are inserted into the heart to detect cardiac electrical information, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to invasive procedure requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary substance (contrast agent or microbubbles) that responds to mechanical deformation caused by electrical activity. This mediator converts internal electrical signals into external detectable acoustic or optical signals, eliminating the need for direct electrical contact with tissue while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct electrical sensing with mechanical deformation sensing. Instead of electrodes contacting tissue to detect electrical potentials, the system uses imaging modalities (ultrasound, MRI, or optical imaging) to detect mechanical deformations of tissue that result from electrical activation, thereby substituting electrical measurement with mechanical measurement
2Ease of operation
If imaging techniques are used to visualize spatial-temporal dynamics, then ease of operation is improved through non-invasive procedures, but measurement precision deteriorates due to difficulty in capturing rapid mechanical deformations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic high-frame-rate imaging sequences that are synchronized with the cardiac cycle. By using periodic imaging at multiple time points throughout the cardiac cycle, the system captures rapid mechanical deformations without requiring continuous ultra-high frame rates, thus maintaining measurement precision while reducing overall imaging burden
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies contrast agents or enhances tissue properties before imaging to amplify mechanical deformation signals. This preliminary action ensures that when imaging occurs, the mechanical deformations are sufficiently enhanced to be detected with high precision, compensating for the limitations of non-invasive imaging techniques
3Ease of operation
If conventional imaging methods are used to track tissue deformation, then ease of operation is maintained, but loss of information increases due to inability to correlate mechanical and electrical activity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges mechanical imaging data with electrical activity information by detecting mechanical deformations that are directly caused by electrical activation. The system combines these datasets through temporal and spatial correlation, creating a unified view that preserves the relationship between electrical and mechanical phenomena without requiring separate invasive measurements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color or intensity encoding in imaging to represent different phases of mechanical deformation and their correlation with electrical activity. By visually encoding temporal and spatial information through color maps or intensity variations, the system preserves information about the relationship between mechanical and electrical events while maintaining ease of operation through standard imaging displays
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables non-invasive imaging of mechanical activity that correlates with electrical activity, aiding in the identification of arrhythmia sources and potential therapeutic targets, enhancing the understanding and treatment of cardiac fibrillation.
Implementation Method 1
adapting a dynamic description of a temporal development of spatial deformations of a predefined elastic model of the medium
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
For characterizing spatial-temporal dynamics of a medium (1) excitable for deformation, an elastic model of the medium is defined. The medium is imaged at consecutive points in time to obtain a series of images. Shifts of structures of the medium (1) between the images of the series are determined. A dynamic description of a temporal development of spatial deformations of a predefined elastic model of the medium (1) is adapted to match the shifts of the structures; and temporal developments of rate of deformation patterns in the medium (1) are identified from the dynamic description.