1
|
Pereira H, Niederer S, Rinaldi CA. Electrocardiographic imaging for cardiac arrhythmias and resynchronization therapy. Europace 2020; 22:euaa165. [PMID: 32754737 PMCID: PMC7544539 DOI: 10.1093/europace/euaa165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Use of the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is fundamental for the assessment of heart disease, including arrhythmias, but cannot always reveal the underlying mechanism or the location of the arrhythmia origin. Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi) is a non-invasive multi-lead ECG-type imaging tool that enhances conventional 12-lead ECG. Although it is an established technology, its continuous development has been shown to assist in arrhythmic activation mapping and provide insights into the mechanism of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). This review addresses the validity, reliability, and overall feasibility of ECGi for use in a diverse range of arrhythmias. A systematic search limited to full-text human studies published in peer-reviewed journals was performed through Medline via PubMed, using various combinations of three key concepts: ECGi, arrhythmia, and CRT. A total of 456 studies were screened through titles and abstracts. Ultimately, 42 studies were included for literature review. Evidence to date suggests that ECGi can be used to provide diagnostic insights regarding the mechanistic basis of arrhythmias and the location of arrhythmia origin. Furthermore, ECGi can yield valuable information to guide therapeutic decision-making, including during CRT. Several studies have used ECGi as a diagnostic tool for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. More recently, studies have tested the value of this technique in predicting outcomes of CRT. As a non-invasive method for assessing cardiovascular disease, particularly arrhythmias, ECGi represents a significant advancement over standard procedures in contemporary cardiology. Its full potential has yet to be fully explored.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Helder Pereira
- Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King’s College London, 4th Floor, Lambeth Wing, St. Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7EH, UK
- Cardiac Physiology Services—Clinical Investigation Centre, Bupa Cromwell Hospital, London, UK
| | - Steven Niederer
- Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King’s College London, 4th Floor, Lambeth Wing, St. Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7EH, UK
| | - Christopher A Rinaldi
- Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King’s College London, 4th Floor, Lambeth Wing, St. Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7EH, UK
- Cardiovascular Department, Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang L, Gharbia OA, Nazarian S, Horácek BM, Sapp JL. Non-invasive epicardial and endocardial electrocardiographic imaging for scar-related ventricular tachycardia. Europace 2019; 20:f263-f272. [PMID: 29684187 DOI: 10.1093/europace/euy082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aims Contact mapping is currently used to guide catheter ablation of scar-related ventricular tachycardia (VT) but usually provides incomplete assessment of 3D re-entry circuits and their arrhythmogenic substrates. This study investigates the feasibility of non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi) in mapping scar substrates and re-entry circuits throughout the epicardium and endocardium. Methods and results Four patients undergoing endocardial and epicardial mapping and ablation of scar-related VT had computed tomography scans and a 120-lead electrocardiograms, which were used to compute patient-specific ventricular epicardial and endocardial unipolar electrograms (CEGMs). Native-rhythm CEGMs were used to identify sites of myocardial scar and signal fractionation. Computed electrograms of induced VT were used to localize re-entrant circuits and exit sites. Results were compared to in vivo contact mapping data and epicardium-based ECGi solutions. During native rhythm, an average of 493 ± 18 CEGMs were analysed on each patient. Identified regions of scar and fractionation comprised, respectively, 25 ± 4% and 2 ± 1% of the ventricular surface area. Using a linear mixed-effects model grouped at the level of an individual patient, CEGM voltage and duration were significantly associated with contact bipolar voltage. During induced VT, the inclusion of endocardial layer in ECGi made it possible to identify two epicardial vs. three endocardial VT exit sites among five reconstructed re-entry circuits. Conclusion Electrocardiographic imaging may be used to reveal sites of signal fractionation and to map short-lived VT circuits. Its capacity to map throughout epicardial and endocardial layers may improve the delineation of 3D re-entry circuits and their arrhythmogenic substrates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linwei Wang
- College of Computing and Information Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Room 74-1075, 102 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Omar A Gharbia
- College of Computing and Information Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Room 74-1075, 102 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Saman Nazarian
- School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - B Milan Horácek
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - John L Sapp
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Odille F, Battaglia A, Hoyland P, Sellal JM, Voilliot D, de Chillou C, Felblinger J. Catheter Treatment of Ventricular Tachycardia: A Reference-Less Pace-Mapping Method to Identify Ablation Targets. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2019; 66:3278-3287. [PMID: 30843798 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2019.2903631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A novel method is developed to identify ablation targets for the catheter treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT). METHODS The method is based on pace-mapping, which is a validated technique to determine the catheter ablation targets. Conventionally, it consists of stimulating the heart ventricle from various sites and comparing the resulting activation pathways to that of a clinical VT by the analysis of surface electrocardiograms (ECG). In this paper, a novel pace-mapping method is presented, which does not require a reference ECG recording of the VT. A three-dimensional correlation gradient map is reconstructed by semiautomatic analysis of ECG morphological changes within the network of pace-mapping sites. In these maps, abnormal points are identified by high correlation gradient values (i.e., corresponding to slow propagation of the electric influx, as in the core of the reentrant VT circuit). The relation between the conventional and reference-less method is described theoretically and evaluated in a retrospective study including 24 VT ablation procedures. RESULTS The "reference-less" method was able to identify normal points with a high accuracy (negative predictive value: NPV = 97%), and to detect more abnormal points, as predicted by the theory. Correlation gradients computed by the proposed method were significantly higher in ablation zones than in other zones of the ventricle (p < 10-12), indicating excellent prediction of the ablation targets. SIGNIFICANCE The reference-less method might either be used in complement of the conventional method or to treat patients in whom VT cannot be induced during the intervention.
Collapse
|
4
|
Cluitmans M, Brooks DH, MacLeod R, Dössel O, Guillem MS, van Dam PM, Svehlikova J, He B, Sapp J, Wang L, Bear L. Validation and Opportunities of Electrocardiographic Imaging: From Technical Achievements to Clinical Applications. Front Physiol 2018; 9:1305. [PMID: 30294281 PMCID: PMC6158556 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) reconstructs the electrical activity of the heart from a dense array of body-surface electrocardiograms and a patient-specific heart-torso geometry. Depending on how it is formulated, ECGI allows the reconstruction of the activation and recovery sequence of the heart, the origin of premature beats or tachycardia, the anchors/hotspots of re-entrant arrhythmias and other electrophysiological quantities of interest. Importantly, these quantities are directly and non-invasively reconstructed in a digitized model of the patient's three-dimensional heart, which has led to clinical interest in ECGI's ability to personalize diagnosis and guide therapy. Despite considerable development over the last decades, validation of ECGI is challenging. Firstly, results depend considerably on implementation choices, which are necessary to deal with ECGI's ill-posed character. Secondly, it is challenging to obtain (invasive) ground truth data of high quality. In this review, we discuss the current status of ECGI validation as well as the major challenges remaining for complete adoption of ECGI in clinical practice. Specifically, showing clinical benefit is essential for the adoption of ECGI. Such benefit may lie in patient outcome improvement, workflow improvement, or cost reduction. Future studies should focus on these aspects to achieve broad adoption of ECGI, but only after the technical challenges have been solved for that specific application/pathology. We propose 'best' practices for technical validation and highlight collaborative efforts recently organized in this field. Continued interaction between engineers, basic scientists, and physicians remains essential to find a hybrid between technical achievements, pathological mechanisms insights, and clinical benefit, to evolve this powerful technique toward a useful role in clinical practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthijs Cluitmans
- Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Dana H. Brooks
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Rob MacLeod
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI), and Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI), The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Olaf Dössel
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | | | - Peter M. van Dam
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Jana Svehlikova
- Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Bin He
- Department of Biomedical Engineering Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - John Sapp
- QEII Health Sciences Centre and Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Linwei Wang
- Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Laura Bear
- IHU LIRYC, Fondation Bordeaux Université, Inserm U1045 and Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| |
Collapse
|