Imaging cellular calcium dysfunction in the heart using multi-modal optical mapping

The potential of dual camera systems for multimodal imaging of cardiac electrophysiology and metabolism

Fluorescence imaging has become a common modality in cardiac electrodynamics. A single fluorescent parameter is typically measured. Given the growing emphasis on simultaneous imaging of more than one cardiac variable, we present an analysis of the potential of dual camera imaging, using as an example our straightforward dual camera system that allows simultaneous measurement of two dynamic quantities from the same region of the heart. The advantages of our system over others include an optional software camera calibration routine that eliminates the need for precise camera alignment. The system allows for rapid setup, dichroic image separation, dual-rate imaging, and high spatial resolution, and it is generally applicable to any two-camera measurement. This type of imaging system offers the potential for recording simultaneously not only transmembrane potential and intracellular calcium, two frequently measured quantities, but also other signals more directly related to myocardial metabolism, such as [K(+)](e), NADH, and reactive oxygen species, leading to the possibility of correlative multimodal cardiac imaging. We provide a compilation of dye and camera information critical to the design of dual camera systems and experiments.

Measuring curvature and velocity vector fields for waves of cardiac excitation in 2-D media

Excitable media theory predicts the effect of electrical wavefront morphology on the dynamics of propagation in cardiac tissue. It specifies that a convex wavefront propagates slower and a concave wavefront propagates faster than a planar wavefront. Because of this, wavefront curvature is thought to be an important functional mechanism of cardiac arrhythmias. However, the curvature of wavefronts during an arrhythmia are generally unknown. We introduce a robust, automated method to measure the curvature vector field of discretely characterized, arbitrarily shaped, two-dimensional (2-D) wavefronts. The method relies on generating a smooth, continuous parameterization of the shape of a wave using cubic smoothing splines fitted to an isopotential at a specified level, which we choose to be -30 mV. Twice differentiating the parametric form provides local curvature vectors along the wavefront and waveback. Local conduction velocities are computed as the wave speed along lines normal to the parametric form. In this way, the curvature and velocity vector field for wavefronts and wavebacks can be measured. We applied the method to data sampled from a 2-D numerical model and several examples are provided to illustrate its usefulness for studying the dynamics of cardiac propagation in 2-D media.