SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING AN ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY MAP USING OPTICAL SHAPE SENSING

• US 20140148677A1
• Filed: 02/14/2012
• Published: 05/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Van Den Brink, Hendrikus Bernardus, Liempde, Gerardus Henricus Maria, Slegt, Sander, Nijhof, Niels, Dijkkamp, Dick
• Application Number:
  US13/984,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20140148677A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/389
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/023 for the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/065 Determining position of the probe employing exclusively positioning means located on or in the probe, e.g. using position sensors arranged on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 Bioelectric electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/282 Holders for multiple electrodes for introduction into the body A61B5/287
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6805 Vests
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/684 Indicating the position of the sensor on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/00 Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis; Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis combined with radiation therapy equipment instruments measuring radiation intensity for application in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting, G01T1/161; apparatus for taking X-ray photographs G03B42/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4441 the rigid structure being a C-arm or U-arm
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/503 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0883 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

The invention relates to a system (1) for providing an electrical activity map of the heart by means of electrical signals acquired by a plurality of surface electrodes (9). A surface electrodes positions determination unit (4, 6, 13) determines positions of the plurality of surface electrodes by means of optical shape sensing localization. The optical shape sensing element may comprise a wand (4), or alternatively an optical shape sensing fiber embedded in the vest comprising the surface electrodes. The position of a cardiac structure may be determined using ultrasound. An electrical activity map determination unit (16) determines the electrical activity map at the cardiac structure based on the measured electrical signals, the determined positions of the plurality of electrodes and the position of the cardiac structure, in particular, of the epicardial surface. Since optical shape sensing is used for determining the positions of the plurality of surface electrodes and not, for instance, x-rays, the electrical activity map can be determined, without necessarily applying an x-ray radiation dose.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A vest for being worn by a living being, the vest being adapted to be used for providing an electrical activity map, the vest comprising:

a plurality of surface electrodes for being arranged on an outer surface of the living being, when the vest is worn by the living being, and for acquiring electrical signals from the heart of the living being,

an optical shape sensing fiber for generating an optical shape sensing signal being indicative of the three-dimensional shape of the optical shape sensing fiber and for providing the optical shape sensing signal to a surface electrodes positions calculation unit.

15. A system for providing an electrical activity map of the heart of a living being by means of electrical signals from the heart acquired by a plurality of surface electrodes being arranged on an outer surface of the living being, wherein a vest as defined in claim 14 is worn by the living being and comprises the plurality of surface electrodes, the system comprising:

a spatial relation providing unit for providing spatial relations between an optical shape sensing fiber of the vest and the surface electrodes,

a surface electrodes positions calculation unit for calculating the positions of the surface electrodes depending on the three-dimensional shape of the optical shape sensing fiber as indicated by an optical shape sensing signal provided by the optical shape sensing fiber and the provided spatial relation,

a cardiac structure position determination unit for determining a position of a cardiac structure of the living being, wherein the cardiac structure position determination unit comprises a cardiac structure position calculation unit for calculating the position of the cardiac structure based on a) an ultrasound signal received from an ultrasound unit equipped with an optical shape sensing sensor, wherein the ultrasound signal is indicative of the position of the cardiac structure, and b) an optical shape sensing signal received from the optical shape sensing sensor of the ultrasound unit, wherein the optical shape sensing signal is indicative of the position of the ultrasound unit,

an electrical activity map determination unit for determining the electrical activity map at the cardiac structure based on the electrical signals measured on the outer surface of the living being, the determined positions of the plurality of electrodes and the determined position of the cardiac structure.

16. The system as defined in claim 14, wherein the cardiac structure position determination unit comprises the ultrasound unit for generating the ultrasound signal being indicative of the position of the cardiac structure, wherein the ultrasound unit is equipped with the optical shape sensing sensor for generating the optical shape sensing signal being indicative of the position of the ultrasound unit.

17. The system as defined in claim 14, wherein the ultrasound unit is a transthoracic echo probe or a transesophageal echo probe.

18. The system as defined in claim 14, wherein the ultrasound signal represents an ultrasound image and wherein the cardiac structure calculation unit is adapted to detect the cardiac structure in the ultrasound image and to calculate the position of the cardiac structure based on the cardiac structure detected in the ultrasound image.

19. A method for providing an electrical activity map of the heart of a living being by means of electrical signals from the heart acquired by a plurality of surface electrodes being arranged on an outer surface of the living being, the method comprising:

determining positions of the plurality of surface electrodes, wherein a vest as defined in claim 14 is worn by the living being and comprises the plurality of surface electrodes, wherein spatial relations between an optical shape sensing fiber of the vest and the surface electrodes are provided by a spatial relation providing unit, and wherein the positions of the surface electrodes are calculated depending on a three-dimensional shape of the optical shape sensing fiber as indicated by an optical shape sensing signal provided by the optical shape sensing fiber and the provided spatial relation by a surface electrodes positions calculation unit,

determining a position of a cardiac structure of the living being, wherein the position of the cardiac structure is determined based on a) an ultrasound signal received from an ultrasound unit equipped with an optical shape sensing sensor, wherein the ultrasound signal is indicative of the position of the cardiac structure, and b) an optical shape sensing signal received from the optical shape sensing sensor of the ultrasound unit, wherein the optical shape sensing signal is indicative of the position of the ultrasound unit, by an cardiac structure position calculation unit, determining the electrical activity map at the cardiac structure based on the electrical signals measured on the outer surface of the living being, the determined positions of the plurality of electrodes and the determined position of the cardiac structure by an electrical activity map determination unit.

20. A computer program for providing an electrical activity map of the heart of a living being by means of electrical signals from the heart acquired by a plurality of surface electrodes being arranged on an outer surface of the living being, the computer program comprising program code means for causing a system as defined in claim 14.