Comparison of magnetocardiography and electrocardiography: a study of automatic measurement of dispersion of ventricular repolarization.
(1/43)
AIMS: There is some dispute over the clinical significance of dispersion of ventricular repolarization measurements from the electrocardiogram. Recent studies have indicated that multichannel magnetocardiograms (MCGs), which non-invasively measure cardiac magnetic field strength from many sites above the body surface, may provide independent information from ECGs about ventricular repolarization dispersion. For this study, magnetocardiography and electrocardiography were compared from automatic measurements of dispersion of ventricular repolarization. METHODS AND RESULTS: Dispersion of ventricular repolarization time was determined in MCGs and standard ECGs recorded simultaneously from 27 healthy volunteers and 22 cardiac patients. Two automatic techniques were used to determine the interval of ventricular repolarization. There were significant differences in ventricular dispersion between ECG and MCG measurements, with multichannel MCG greater than ECG by 52 (47) ms [mean (SD)] (P<0.00001) and 12-channel MCG greater by 17 (40) ms (P<0.004) across techniques and all subjects. Magnetocardiograms had the greater discriminating power between normal and cardiac patients with differences of 46 (18) ms (P<0.017) for multichannel MCG and 44 (16) ms (P<0.005) for 12-channel MCG, compared with 16 (7) ms (P<0.04) for ECG. CONCLUSION: Magnetocardiography has the power to discriminate regional cardiac conduction differences. (+info)
Visualization of cardiac dipole using a current density map: detection of cardiac current undetectable by electrocardiography using magnetocardiography.
(2/43)
A close relationship exists between electric current and the magnetic field. However, electricity and magnetism have different physical characteristics, and magnetocardiography (MCG) may provide information on cardiac current that is difficult to obtain by electrocardiography (ECG). In the present study, we investigated the issue of whether the current density map method, in which cardiac current is estimated from the magnetic gradient, facilitates the visualization of cardiac current undetectable by ECG. The subjects were 50 healthy adults (N group), 40 patients with left ventricular overloading (LVO group), 15 patients with right ventricular overloading (RVO group), 10 patients with an old inferior myocardial infarction (OMI group), and 30 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM group). MCGs were recorded with a second derivative superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) gradiometer using liquid helium. Isopotential maps and current density maps from unipolar precordial ECG leads and MCGs, respectively, were prepared, and the cardiac electric current was examined. The current density map at the ventricular depolarization phase showed one peak of current density in the N group. However, in the OMI group, the current density map showed multiple peaks of current density areas. In the RVO group, two peaks of current densities were detected at the right superior region and left thoracic region and these two diploles appeared to be from the right and left ventricular derived cardiac currents, respectively. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the magnitude of the current density from the right ventricle and the systolic pulmonary arterial pressure. The current density map at the ventricular repolarization phase in the N group showed only a single current source. However, abnormal current sources in the current density maps were frequently detected even in patients showing no abnormalities on isopotential maps in the LVO, DM, and OMI groups. The findings herein suggest that opposing dipoles of the ventricular depolarization and repolarization vectors were summed and evaluated as a single dipole in the electrocardiogram. However, MCG facilitated the detection of multiple dipoles because of its superior spatial resolution as well as difference in physical properties between magnetic and electrical fields. Our results suggest that MCG with a current density map is useful for detecting cardiac current undetectable by ECG in an early stage. (+info)
Comparison of magnetocardiography and electrocardiography.
(3/43)
OBJECTIVE: Automated techniques were developed for the measurement of cardiac repolarisation using magnetocardiography. METHODS: This was achieved by collaboration with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin, Germany and the Gronemeyer Institute of Microtherapy, Bochum, Germany, to obtain recordings of magnetocardiograms (MCGs) in cardiac patients and healthy subjects. Manual and automated ventricular repolarisation measurements from MCGs were evaluated to determine the clinical relevance of these measurements compared with electrocardiograms (ECGs). RESULTS: Results showed that MCG and ECG T-wave shapes differed and that manual repolarisation measurement was significantly influenced by T-wave amplitude. Automatic measurements of repolarisation in both MCGs and ECGs differed between techniques. The effects of filtering on the waveforms showed that filtering in some MCG research systems could significantly influence the results, with 20 ms differences common. In addition, MCGs were better able to identify differences in the distribution of cardiac magnetic field strength during repolarisation and depolarisation between normal subjects and cardiac patients. Differences were also determined in ventricular repolarisation between MCGs and ECGs, which cannot be explained by channel/lead numbers or amplitude effects alone. CONCLUSION: The techniques developed are essential, because of the many extra MCG channels to analyse, and will encourage the use of MCG facilities. (+info)
Magnetocardiography provides non-invasive three-dimensional electroanatomical imaging of cardiac electrophysiology.
(4/43)
OBJECTIVE: More than two decades of research work have shown that magnetocardiographic mapping (MCG) is reliable for non-invasive three-dimensional electroanatomical imaging (3D-EAI) of arrhythmogenic substrates. Magnetocardiographic mapping is now become appealing to interventional electrophysiologists after recent evidence that MCG-based dynamic imaging of atrial arrhythmias could be useful to classify patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) before ablation and to plan the most appropriate therapeutic approach. This article will review some key-points of 3D-EAI and discuss what is still missing to favor clinical applicability of MCG-based 3D-EAI. METHODS: Magnetocardiographic mapping is performed with a 36-channel unshielded mapping system, based on DC-SQUID sensors coupled to second-order axial gradiometers (pick-up coil 19 mm and 55-70 mm baselines; sensitivity of 20 fT/Sqrt[Hz] in above 1 Hz), as part of the electrophysiologic investigation protocol, tailored to the diagnostic need of each arrhythmic patient. More than 500 arrhythmic patients have been investigated so far. RESULTS: The MCG-based 3D-EAI has proven useful to localize well-confined arrhythmogenic substrates, such as focal ventricular tachycardia or preexcitation, to understand some causes for ablation failure, to study atrial electrophysiology including spectral analysis and localization of dominant frequency components of AF. However, MCG is still missing software tools for automatic and/or interactive 3D imaging, and multimodal data fusion equivalent to those provided with systems for invasive 3D electroanatomical mapping. CONCLUSION: Since there is an increasing trend to favor interventional treatment of arrhythmias, clinical application of MCG 3D-EAI is foreseen to improve preoperative selection of patients, to plan the appropriate interventional approach and to reduce ablation failure. (+info)
Detection of atrial arrhythmia in superconducting quantum interference device magnetocardiography; preliminary result of a totally-noninvasive localization method for atrial current mapping.
(5/43)
Map-guided surgery is the goal for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), because it minimizes unnecessary incisions or procedures. We propose a totally-noninvasive and even non-contact method to detect atrial arrhythmia with a superconducting quantum interference device magnetocardiography (MCG) system, and report the first clinical application case of MCG map-guided AF surgery. To detect weak atrial excitation, we utilized a high sensitive 64-channel MCG system measuring tangential magnetic field components, which is known to be more sensitive to a deeper current source. We measured the MCG signals from eight patients with chronic AF. Then, we separated the f-wave from the other components by using independent component analysis. The extracted f-wave caused by reentrant myocardial excitation was three-dimensionally localized on the mesh model of a human heart by a novel beamformer technique having a surface action potential activity as its filter output. We localized the abnormal stimulation source of an atrial arrhythmia non-invasively and visualized the current source distribution corresponding to the atrial excitation successfully on the three-dimensional atrial surface, which was separated from the ventricular excitation. Using this atrial mapping, we underwent minimal AF surgery in three patients and converted their AF to sinus rhythm successfully. (+info)
Atrial and ventricular rate response and patterns of heart rate acceleration during maternal-fetal terbutaline treatment of fetal complete heart block.
(6/43)
Terbutaline is used to treat fetal bradycardia in the setting of complete heart block (CHB); however, little is known of its effects on atrial and ventricular beat rates or patterns of heart rate (HR) acceleration. Fetal atrial and ventricular beat rates were compared before and after transplacental terbutaline treatment (10 to 30 mg/day) by fetal echocardiography in 17 fetuses with CHB caused by immune-mediated damage to a normal conduction system (isoimmune, n = 8) or a congenitally malformed conduction system associated with left atrial isomerism (LAI, n = 9). While receiving terbutaline, 9 of the 17 fetuses underwent fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) to assess maternal HR and rhythm, patterns of fetal HR acceleration, and correlation between fetal atrial and ventricular accelerations (i.e., AV correlation). Maternal HR and fetal atrial and ventricular beat rates increased with terbutaline. However, terbutaline's effects were greater on the atrial pacemaker(s) in fetuses with isoimmune CHB and greater on the ventricular pacemaker(s) in those with LAI-associated CHB. Patterns of fetal HR acceleration also differed between isoimmune and LAI CHB. Finally, despite increasing HR, terbutaline did not restore the normal coordinated response between atrial and ventricular accelerations in isoimmune or LAI CHB. In conclusion, the pathophysiologic heterogeneity of CHB is reflected in the differing effect of terbutaline on the atrial and ventricular pacemaker(s) and varying patterns of HR acceleration. However, regardless of the cause of CHB, terbutaline augments HR but not AV correlation, suggesting that its effects are determined by the conduction system defect rather than the autonomic control of the developing heart. (+info)
Slow brain potential and oscillatory EEG manifestations of impaired temporal preparation in Parkinson's disease.
(7/43)
Performance in behavioral tasks is influenced by temporal expectations shaped by the temporal structure of the task. Such implicit temporal preparation is reflected in slow brain potentials and electroencephalographic oscillations and is attributed to interval timing mechanisms that probably depend on intact basal ganglia function. We investigated implicit timing in Parkinson's disease using a choice reaction task with two temporally regular stimulus presentation regimes, both including occasional deviant interstimulus intervals. Control subjects, but not patients, demonstrated temporal preparation in the form of an adjustment in time course of slow brain potentials to the duration of the interstimulus interval. However, in both groups, timing perturbations were accompanied by a slow brain potential amplitude drop at the time of expected stimulus occurrence, demonstrating intact representation of time in patients. In patients, oscillatory activity in beta and alpha bands showed attenuated preparatory desynchronization and reduced postmovement event-related synchronization, reflecting abnormal engagement and disengagement of sensorimotor and parietal areas. The results demonstrate profoundly deficient temporal preparation with preserved encoding of temporal information, a dissociation that may be explained by impaired dopamine-dependent motor learning. The results are discussed in the context of recent work on oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia. (+info)
Integral value of JT interval in magnetocardiography is sensitive to coronary stenosis and improves soon after coronary revascularization.
(8/43)
BACKGROUND: Magnetocardiography (MCG) is sensitive to minute cardiac electric abnormalities, but its clinical utility in diagnosing ischemic heart disease (IHD) has not been established. The present study examined the usefulness of an integral MCG value of ventricular repolarization in patients with IHD. METHODS AND RESULTS: MCG was performed at rest in 14 patients with coronary stenosis >75% confirmed by coronary angiography (IHD group) using a 64-channel system, and then the sum of the 64-channel integral values of the QRS or JT intervals (QRSi and JTi, respectively) was calculated. The JTi/QRSi value indicated the total power of currents in JT compared with those in QRS. These measurements were repeated within 2 weeks after coronary revascularization. The Control group comprised 30 healthy volunteers. The baseline value of JTi/QRSi was significantly smaller in the IHD than in the Control group, but after revascularization it increased and did not significantly differ from the Control group. No significant difference in ST deviation was identified by electrocardiography (ECG) before and after coronary revascularization. Analysis of the Control group revealed that JTi/QRSi was not affected by age. CONCLUSIONS: The JTi/QRSi of the MCG is more sensitive to coronary stenosis than ECG, and this parameter improves soon after coronary revascularization. (+info)