Simulation of two-dimensional activation maps in the heart
Heart activation images were generated by computer simulations using an electrophysiological model that incorporates recent data on cardiac tissue properties and arrhythmia mechanisms. The model parameters were adjusted so that the heart's activity is synchronized with the ECG signals. Each simulation lasts between 10 and 25 seconds.
To our knowledge, the generated images are the most accurate commercially available 2D animations of the heart's electrical activity.
More than 30 arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities
The database includes:
- Sinus arrhythmia
- Sinoatrial block
- Wandering atrial pacemaker
- Sick sinus syndrome
- Premature atrial complexes
- Unifocal atrial tachycardia
- Multifocal atrial tachycardia
- Atrial flutter
- Atrial fibrillation
- 1st-degree AV block
- 2nd-degree AV block (Mobitz I, II, and 2:1)
- 3rd-degree AV block
- Junctional escape complexes
- Nonparoxysmal junctional tachycardia
- AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (typical and atypical)
- AV reentrant tachycardia (orthodromic and antidromic)
- Wolff-Parkinson-White pattern
- Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs)
- Ventricular bigeminy
- Ventricular trigeminy
- Ventricular couplets
- Fusion beats
- Multiform PVCs
- Right bundle-branch block
- Left bundle-branch block
- Idioventricular rhythm
- Accelerated idioventricular rhythm
- Monomorphic ventricular tachycardia
- Ventricular flutter
- Ventricular fibrillation
Interactive and user-friendly graphical interface
The graphical interface simulates a virtual ECG device with additional animation panels:
- Multimedia buttons to control the animation sequence (Play, Stop, Pause, Frame by Frame, and speed control).
- Knobs allowing the user to change the time and amplitude scales of the ECG tracings.
- Beat-to-beat display of heart rate, QRS complex duration, and PR and corrected QT intervals.
- The ECG intervals are presented in the form of bars with different colors to distinguish between normal and abnormal values.
- ECG screen with different graphical flavors: cyan, amber, and green traces on black background, or blue-dark trace on ECG paper.
- Options to display beat annotations and a screen grid.
Documentation
Each arrhythmia case is documented. The help includes different sections such as description of the arrhythmia, ECG characteristics, and electrophysiological mechanisms. Related arrhythmias that are not included in the software are also discussed.
Figures and diagrams are included to illustrate important concepts. A separate chapter introduces basic concepts of cardiac electrophysiology and mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis.
Limitations
- The heart is a complex three-dimensional structure. Our simulations, which are based on a two-dimensional model of the heart's electrical activity, portray a simplified projection of the three-dimensional activation maps observed in epicardial and endocardial measurements during electrophysiological experiments.
- The number of ECG leads is limited to two.
System requirements
- Windows 98/Me/NT(SP6)/2000/XP/Vista(classic and basic interfaces, no Aero interface).
- Pentium III 500 MHz or equivalent.
- 128 MB RAM.
- 100 MB of free hard disk space.
- 800x600 minimum screen resolution.
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