A new cardiac button electrode design for intraoperative mapping

The study of epicardial activation of the intact heart requires mechanically secure placement of multiple electrodes on the beating heart. One application used intraoperatively in man is the mapping of the location of the accessory pathway in patients with atrioventricular accessory bypass tracts. We have developed an easily constructed and durable bipolar button electrode for this application that, in addition to reliably providing high quality cardiac electrograms, directly indicates its spatial location to the surgical team on the beating heart.