Quantitative panoramic imaging of epicardial electrical activity

Area of Science:

• Cardiac electrophysiology
• Biomedical imaging
• Computational biology

Background:

• Fluorescent imaging using voltage- and calcium-sensitive dyes has significantly advanced cardiac physiology research.
• Optical mapping of electrical activity provides crucial insights into heart function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an improved panoramic imaging technique for whole epicardial optical mapping of electrical activity in rabbit hearts.
• To enable visualization of cardiac electrical data on a reconstructed 3D heart surface.
• To introduce methods for quantifying panoramic cardiac imaging data.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing panoramic imaging for optical mapping of the entire epicardium of Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts.
• Reconstructing the 3D heart surface for realistic visualization of functional data.
• Developing a regular grid meshing approach for data quantification.
• Adapting non-linear dynamics methods for 2D array data and simplifying 3D to 2D surface unwrapping.
• Calculating conduction velocities considering epicardial surface curvature.

Main Results:

• Successful implementation of panoramic imaging for comprehensive epicardial mapping.
• Visualization of electrical activity mapped onto realistic 3D heart geometry.
• Development of quantification methods including activation, phase, phase singularity, and virtual electrode polarization (VEP) maps.
• Calculation of epicardial conduction velocities accounting for heart surface curvature.

Conclusions:

• The improved panoramic imaging technique offers a powerful tool for detailed cardiac electrophysiology research.
• Visualization on 3D heart models enhances understanding of electrical propagation.
• Quantification methods provide new avenues for analyzing complex cardiac electrical phenomena.
• This approach facilitates a deeper understanding of cardiac electrical dynamics and potential arrhythmias.