Reconstruction of epicardial signs on the surface of the heart during sinus rhythm using the Tikhonov regularization method

• Grant number: 24/04741-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Bioengineering
• Principal Investigator: João Loures Salinet Júnior
• Grantee: Gabrielli Ribeiro Cavagnolli
• Host Institution: Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas (CECS). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/25606-2 - Accurate mapping of cardiac fibrillation activity: an experimental contribution, AP.JP

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent sustained cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice, affecting between 1 and 2% of the world's population. During AF, the interpretation of the signals and maps made available by commercial electrical mapping systems is often complex and uncertain, making it difficult to correctly characterize and locate arrhythmogenic sources, reducing the efficacy of ablation treatment. The objective of this project is to estimate the signals of the electrical activity of the epicardium during sinus rhythm by the non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging method to generate electrophysiological maps of the epicardium obtained during in situ experiments prior to the induction of AF by electrical stimulation.This will allow the generation of sinus rhythm behaviors and patterns in the epicardium in a non-invasive way, which in the future may help in comparison with those to be generated during AF. In this project, signals of the electrical activity of the epicardium and torso to be obtained during experiments will be made available. From the non-contact signals during sinus rhythm, those of the epicardium will be estimated by the iECG method through discretization of the 3D surfaces of the epicardium and torso in triangular elements and the use of the Tikhonov regularization method. Signal analysis and map generation will be performed using Matlab Software Version 9.7 (R2019) (Mathworks, Inc.). Time and frequency domain metrics and maps will be calculated from the epicardial signals. This will allow the classification of sinus rhythm patterns reflected in the epicardium in a non-invasive way.