Removal of cardiac and respiratory motion from geometric points acquired from cardiac catheter electrodes
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Publication Number
US-12496017-B1
Publication Date
2025-12-16
Expiration Date
Abstract
A method for processing at least one electrical signal received from a mapping catheter electrode during cardiac mapping of a patient's heart is disclosed. The method comprises processing the at least one electrical signal to identify a heartbeat in the signal at a time t; analyzing a portion of the at least one electrical signal prior to the detected heartbeat to identify a time t′ when motion of the mapping catheter electrode is at a minimum; and selecting a catheter position for the heartbeat as the position of the catheter at the time t′.
Core Innovation
The invention concerns cardiac-mapping motion correction that associates a heartbeat detected in electrical signals with a mapping catheter electrode position selected at a time of minimum motion. It time-aligns ECG and three-dimensional catheter coordinates, uses electrode velocity to identify minimum-motion time, and searches backward from the heartbeat time. The selected cardiac-motion-corrected coordinates are then used to identify minimum-motion positions across respiratory cycles.
The described approach addresses motion-related geometric errors and jaggedness in heart-surface models. It selects a position determined to be free of motion artifacts or corresponding to a position before an offset due to motion, and displays the selected catheter position. The described processing also includes velocity thresholds and coordinate up-sampling for higher-resolution model building.
Claims Coverage
The claim coverage includes three inventive features corresponding to three independent claims: two methods and one cardiac-mapping system. Their main inventive features concern heartbeat-associated catheter-position selection, motion-artifact reduction through position remapping, and system components for heartbeat detection and motion correction. Dependent claims add velocity-based selection, threshold blocking, averaging across cycles, respiratory-cycle-based searches, and coordinate up-sampling.
Minimum-motion position selection for a heartbeat
The method processes an electrical signal to identify a heartbeat at time t, analyzes signal data before the heartbeat to identify time t′ when mapping catheter electrode motion is at a minimum, selects the catheter position at t′ for the heartbeat, and displays that position. It searches a time window backward from t to determine a minimum time value. Related dependent claims specify velocity-based identification, velocity-associated thresholds, averaging across respiratory cycles, respiratory-cycle-based search windows, and coordinate-data up-sampling.
Motion-artifact reduction in electrical readings
The method determines a motion velocity vector from positional data, selects a heartbeat at time t corresponding to catheter position P, and associates the heartbeat with a new catheter position determined to be free of motion artifacts. It also searches a time window backward from t to determine a minimum time value. Related dependent claims specify minimum-velocity position selection, averaging across cardiac cycles, velocity-vector thresholds, respiratory-cycle-based search windows, and coordinate-data up-sampling.
Cardiac-mapping system for motion correction
The system includes a heartbeat detection unit, a mapping unit that associates a spatial position with a detected heartbeat, a motion correction unit that selectively remaps that position to a new spatial position corresponding to the electrode position before an offset due to motion, and a backward search module. Related dependent claims address cardiac or respiratory motion, minimum electrode velocity, velocity thresholds, coordinate-data up-sampling, and respiratory-cycle-based search windows.
Together, the independent claims cover methods for selecting or remapping catheter positions associated with heartbeats and a system that performs heartbeat detection, spatial mapping, motion correction, and backward time-window searching. Dependent claims refine these features with velocity criteria, thresholds, cycle-based averaging or searching, and coordinate up-sampling.
Stated Advantages
The motion-correction approach is stated to reduce geometric errors and jaggedness in heart-surface models.
Documented Applications
Cardiac mapping of a patient's heart using electrical signals and positional data from a mapping catheter electrode.
Building heart-surface models using selected cardiac-motion-corrected coordinates; the description also identifies coordinate up-sampling for higher-resolution model building.
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