Cardiac Activation Wave Split Location Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for identifying target sites for ventricular tachycardia (VT) treatment are limited by high computational resource requirements and low accuracy, leading to long procedure times and high complication rates, as they rely on costly monodomain simulations and are not feasible in clinical environments.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that uses a three-dimensional cardiac model to simulate the evolution of cardiac activation waves and determine split locations between myocardial and fibrotic segments, allowing for the identification of target sites for VT treatment with reduced computational resources, enabling fast and accurate determination of potential ablation sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If monodomain simulations are used to identify target sites for VT treatment, then measurement precision is improved, but use of energy and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses simplified anatomical models and surrogate representations of cardiac tissue to create computational models that capture essential electrical properties without requiring full monodomain simulations. These copying approaches allow target site identification with reduced computational cost while maintaining clinical accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the level of computational detail by using reduced-order models that focus on key electrical parameters (action potential duration, conduction velocity) rather than full monodomain simulations. This parameter simplification maintains diagnostic accuracy while dramatically reducing energy and computational resource requirements.
2Measurement precision
If catheter-based electroanatomical mapping is used to reconstruct intramural propagation pathways, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and procedure time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces computational models as intermediaries between anatomical imaging and target site identification. These models process structural data from MRI/CT and generate electrical property maps that guide catheter positioning, reducing the complexity of real-time mapping procedures while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary computational modeling and target site identification before the actual ablation procedure. By pre-processing anatomical data to predict optimal target locations, the intra-procedural mapping complexity is reduced and procedure time is shortened while maintaining high accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If VT is induced during the procedure to map target sites, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time and patient risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs VT induction and mapping in a controlled pre-procedural setting using computational models rather than during the actual treatment procedure. This preliminary action allows thorough characterization of re-entrant circuits before ablation, reducing intra-procedural time and patient risk while maintaining mapping precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of the patient's heart anatomy and electrophysiology through computational models. These digital twins allow repeated VT induction and mapping simulations without exposing the patient to repeated procedural risks or time delays, thereby reducing actual procedure time while maintaining accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method of determining one or more target sites usable for treatment of ventricular tachycardia is proposed including receiving three-dimensional model data indicative of a cardiac model modelling an anatomy of a heart of a subject with fibrosis, wherein the cardiac model includes at least one myocardial segment associated with and/or modelled as electrically conducting myocardial tissue and at least one fibrotic segment associated with and/or modelled as insulating fibrotic tissue, simulating the evolution of a cardiac activation wave across the at least one myocardial segment and the at least one fibrotic segment, and determining at least one split location, at which an isosurface of the simulated wave is split into two or more sections, the at least one split location being indicative of a location for the simulated wave hitting a boundary between the at least one fibrotic segment and the at least one myocardial segment.