Electromechanical wave imaging for noninvasive mapping of the 3D electrical activation sequence in canines and humans...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death in the US, partly due to limitations in current cardiac imaging techniques.
• Existing methods like CT angiography and echocardiography have drawbacks in speed and reliability for detecting cardiac abnormalities.
• There is a critical need for non-invasive imaging that can quantitatively map myocardial electrical and mechanical function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate Electromechanical Wave Imaging (EWI), an ultrasound-based technique for assessing cardiac electrical function.
• To demonstrate the capability of EWI in differentiating cardiac rhythms and mapping arrhythmias.
• To present preliminary validation and in vivo human applications of EWI for cardiac electrical conduction mapping.

Main Methods:

• EWI utilizes ultrasound to detect electromechanical coupling and resulting myocardial strain to infer electrical function.
• The study describes the methodology of EWI and presents its fundamental performance characteristics.
• In vivo studies were conducted on canines and humans, including transthoracic mapping of all four heart chambers.

Main Results:

• EWI successfully differentiated between sinus rhythm and induced pacing schemes in vivo.
• The technique demonstrated applicability in mapping cardiac arrhythmias.
• Preliminary validation using catheter mapping was performed, and transthoracic mapping in all human heart chambers was achieved.

Conclusions:

• Electromechanical Wave Imaging is a novel, non-invasive ultrasound technique for inferring cardiac electrical function.
• EWI shows significant potential for quantitative, regional mapping of myocardial electrical activity.
• This method could improve the screening, early detection, and localization of cardiovascular abnormalities.