Mapping Catheter Integrated Electrical and Mechanical Strain Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic methods, such as cardiac MRI, have limited temporal resolution and primarily focus on systolic strain measurements, overlooking the diagnostic value of diastolic strain and failing to accurately identify myocardial pathologies like scar tissue and diastolic defects.
Innovation Solution
An integrated system using a mapping catheter with position and electrode sensors to simultaneously measure mechanical and electrical properties of the heart, enabling precise identification of pathological areas by computing mechanical strain and electrical activity across the heart cycle, including both systolic and diastolic phases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If cardiac MRI is used to measure mechanical strain, then spatial resolution is improved, but temporal resolution deteriorates and diagnostic accuracy for diastolic defects worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical imaging-based strain measurement system (cardiac MRI) with an electrical sensing system (mapping catheter with electrodes). This substitution enables direct electrical signal acquisition at high temporal resolution while maintaining spatial information through catheter positioning, thereby resolving the temporal resolution limitation of MRI without sacrificing measurement precision through the use of multiple electrodes and 3D mapping capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from mechanical displacement (strain) to electrical activation timing. By measuring electrical signals directly during diastole and systole, the system achieves high temporal resolution for detecting diastolic defects while maintaining spatial resolution through 3D electroanatomical mapping, thus resolving the contradiction between temporal and spatial measurement capabilities.
2Loss of time
If invasive mapping catheter is used to measure mechanical strain, then temporal resolution is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mapping catheter is designed to perform multiple functions: it measures both mechanical strain and electrical activation signals during both diastole and systole. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate diagnostic procedures and devices, thereby managing overall system complexity while achieving high temporal resolution for detecting timing abnormalities in both phases of the cardiac cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines mechanical strain sensing and electrical signal acquisition into a single integrated mapping catheter system. By merging these previously separate measurement functions into one device, the system achieves high temporal resolution for detecting diastolic and systolic abnormalities while consolidating device complexity into a unified platform rather than requiring multiple separate invasive devices.
3Device complexity
If only systolic strain measurements are taken, then diagnostic focus is simplified, but diagnostic accuracy for myocardial pathologies worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous measurement of both mechanical strain and electrical activation throughout the entire cardiac cycle, including both diastole and systole. This continuous monitoring approach ensures that no diagnostically relevant information is missed, thereby improving diagnostic accuracy for myocardial pathologies such as scar tissue and diastolic defects without significantly increasing protocol complexity through automated analysis algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary measurement of diastolic strain and electrical activation timing before systolic measurements. By capturing diastolic data first, the system ensures that critical diagnostic information about diastolic function and timing is not overlooked, improving overall diagnostic accuracy while maintaining a systematic measurement protocol that manages complexity through structured data acquisition.
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
This approach provides enhanced diagnostic accuracy for identifying scar tissue and diastolic defects, optimizing therapeutic interventions like pacing and drug delivery, and improving the efficacy of cardiac resynchronization treatments by combining mechanical and electrical criteria.
Implementation Method 1
This deformation can be quantified in terms of mechanical strain, which is a deformation descriptor in terms of relative displacement of particles in the body that excludes rigid motion
Implementation Method 2
local electrical activity at the plurality of locations is also acquired
Data Source
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Figure 2A~3
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AI summary
A method for anatomical diagnosis includes measuring, using a catheter that includes a position sensor and an electrode, over multiple cycles of a beating heart, electrical activity and mechanical motion at a plurality of locations contacted by the catheter on a heart wall within a chamber of the heart. Based on the measured mechanical motion, a magnitude of a mechanical strain is computed over the cycles at the locations. In one embodiment, the computed strain is used in identifying a group of the locations at which the magnitude of the mechanical strain is below a predefined strain threshold and a voltage of the electrical activity is below a predefined voltage threshold as a locus of scar tissue. In another embodiment, a pathological condition of the heart is identified based on a characteristic of the mechanical strain computed over the left ventricle during the diastolic phase