Comparison of intracardiac mapping modalities by analysing electrogram signals

  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia characterised by an irregular heart rhythm, which can cause various complications such as heart failure and stroke. Catheter ablation of the pulmonary veins is an effective therapy for patients suffering from paroxysmal AF. However, medicine is lacking a reliable curative therapy for patients with persistent AF. Recently, catheter ablation targeting areas of low voltage identified by intracardiac mapping has gained attention as a promising approach for persistent AF patients.

      Currently, work is being done to correlate the electroanatomical maps between sinus rhythm (SR) and AF. However, with the noise and irregular rhythm that is associated with AF, it remains unclear if the active segments in the map have been detected robustly. Once detected correctly the two mapping modalities can be compared to assess if they provide the same information about the extent and location of atrial arrhythmogenic substrate.

      This work will first consist of creating a robust automatic method for detecting the active segments in the AF signals. Then in order to gain a deeper insight into the variabilities of the signal when recorded during AF, various features of the signals will be examined to assess how they change over time. Finally, prolonged/late potentials in SR will be compared to prolonged/rapid activity sites in AF along with the comparison of the voltage in each map.