New method of assessing cycle lengths in human atrial fibrillation

Measuring the mean cycle length (CL) of a rapidly beating heart is considered an efficient way to monitor arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Routinely, sequential CL mapping, using contact catheters in the atria, provides indications on the localization of regions involved in AF. In particular, this technique helps the practitioner, during ablation procedures, to identify some features of the arrhythmia, as, for instance, the driving atrium, or the fastest regions, or its complexity. In this study, we propose a non invasive mapping of CL (niCL), using phase information extracted from electrocardiographic imaging signals (ECGI). niCL mapping provides with a real time ablation planning to the bedside of patients, prior to ablation procedure. The results of this study validate the method in showing a direct correlation between endocavitory (inside the heart) measurements of CL (enCL) and niCL mapping.