Heart Rhythm Disorder Driver Identification via Phase Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods fail to accurately identify the core of rotational sources or the origin of focal sources associated with complex heart rhythm disorders, such as atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation, making targeted treatment challenging.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses data from multiple sensors to identify a local region of the heart with repeating activation patterns that control distant regions, assigning it as a driver of the heart rhythm disorder, employing phase mapping, vector analysis, and other methods to determine persistent rotational or focal drivers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional methods are used to identify heart rhythm disorder sources, then the general location can be detected, but the precise core of rotational sources or origin of focal sources cannot be identified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the heart into multiple local regions and uses arrays of sensors to detect electrical activity in each region separately. By dividing the complex task of source identification into regional analyses, the system can pinpoint the precise core of rotational sources or origin of focal sources while managing computational complexity through localized processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces phase mapping as an additional analytical dimension beyond traditional amplitude-based ECG analysis. By analyzing the phase of electrical signals across multiple sensors and time points, the system creates a multi-dimensional representation of cardiac electrical activity that enables precise localization of drivers that would be invisible in conventional two-dimensional ECG traces.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors and complex analysis methods are employed, then driver identification precision improves, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops a unified analysis framework that handles both rotational sources and focal sources using the same phase mapping and regional activation analysis methodology. This multi-functional approach allows the system to identify different types of arrhythmia drivers (rotational rotors, focal sources, reentrant circuits) through a single versatile detection system, reducing the need for multiple specialized tools and simplifying the overall detection process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified representations of complex electrical activity by generating activation maps and phase plots that copy the essential features of multi-sensor data into visually interpretable formats. These graphical copies allow clinicians to quickly identify driver locations and characteristics without directly analyzing the raw complex multi-dimensional sensor data, thereby reducing the perceived complexity of the detection method.
3Ease of manufacture
If the system identifies only general activation patterns, then the analysis is simpler, but targeted treatment cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality analysis by examining electrical activation characteristics in specific local regions of the heart rather than analyzing the heart as a whole. By identifying regions with abnormal activation patterns (such as regions with continuous activation, rotational phase patterns, or earliest activation times), the system pinpoints exact treatment targets for ablation or other therapies, ensuring that treatment is applied to the precise location of the arrhythmia driver rather than broadly across the heart.
Data Source
AI summary
In a system and method for identifying a driver of a source associated with a heart rhythm disorder, data are accessed from a plurality of sensors representing biological activity in the heart. A first region and a second region of the heart, which comprise the source of the heart rhythm disorder, are identified. If the first region of the heart has repeating centrifugal activation and controls the second region of the heart for at least a predetermined number of beats, the first region is identified as controlling the source of the heart rhythm disorder.