Regional myocardial infarction at operation. An automated system of identification

The difference between normal and infarcted myocardium at operation cannot always be defected by inspection or palpation. Infarcted myocardium may be identified by a decrease in the amplitude of the ventricular bipolar electrogram. Although this method is reliable and reproducible, it requires a second observer's visual analysis and interpretation of the electrogram signal. This method is therefore subject to the vagaries of human observation, analysis, and accounts of rapidly changing data. We have designed and built an automated instrument to simplify the recognition of transmural infarction.