COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY

MODERN TECHNIQUES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF RECURRENT CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS ARE FREQUENTLY BASED ON THE RESULTS OF ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY STUDIES IN A CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION LABORATORY. AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT YET DIFFICULT AND TIME-CONSUMING ASPECTS OF THESE STUDIES ARE THE OBSERVATION AND ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF THE TIMING OF INTRACARDIAC ELECTROGRAMS. CERTAIN PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONSMUST BE MADE DURING THE PROCEDURE ITSELF (ONLINE), WHILE MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS IS DONE LATER (OFFLINE) BY WORKING THROUGH THE LENGTHY STRIP-CHART RECORDING WITH A PAIR OF CALIPERS AND MILLIMETER SCALE. THE HYPOTHESIS OF THIS RESEARCH IS THAT SUCH ANALYSIS CAN BE DONE MORE SWIFTLY, ACCURATELY, AND ECONOMICALLY BY SUING MODERN COMPUTER TECHNIQUES FOR THE ACQUISITION, MEASUREMENT, DISPLAY, AND RETRIEVAL OF INTRACARDIAC SIGNALS. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM FOR CARDIAC ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY STUDIES. THIS WILL HAVE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR: ONLINE MEASUREMENTAND DISPLAY OF ELECTROGRAM TIMING; CONTINUOUS DIGITAL STORAGE OF THE SIGNALS AND THEIR TIMING; AND RETRIEVAL OF SECTIONS OF THE RECORD, DURING AND AFTER THE STUDY, WITH RAPID DISPLAY, ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS, AND SELECTED HARD-COPY GRAPHICS. IN PHASE I, THE FEASIBILITY OF COMPUTER ACQUISITION, INTERVAL ANALYSIS, DISPLAY, AND STORAGE OF MULTICHANNEL RECORDINGS FROM THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY WILL BE DEMONSTRATED. IN PHASE II, EP SYSTEMS WILL DESIGN, DEVELOP,AND CONSTRUCT A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM AND PERFORM CLINICAL TESTING AND EVALUATION AT SEVERAL CENTERS.