Peyman Moeini, Navid Zohouri, Zed Klaf
supervised by Dr. K. Umapathy
Originated and supported by the collaborative efforts of Mr. S. Masse, Mr. E. Sevaptsidis, Dr. K. Nanthakumar, Toronto General Hospital.
Heart is one of the vital organs in the human body that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body and the lungs. This pumping action of the heart is done rhythmically through a periodic conduction of electrical activity throughout the heart. Heart's specific conduction system has certain specific characteristics. There are many different cardiac arrhythmias, which affect rhythmic heart pump. These irregularities can be a simple partial blockage to the slow beating of the heart (Bradycardia) or the fast beating of the heart (tachycardia). One other important rhythmic problem associated with the heart is a condition known as ventricular fibrillation. In such a situation, the conduction of the heart is no longer sequential and the heart's muscles undergo a series of spasms. This prevents the heart from pumping any blood, and if not treated quickly, it can cause major physiological damage and eventually death. Currently, many different medical systems exist that can detect if such a problem is occurring. One main instrument utilized is the electrocardiogram or the ECG, which provides valuable information regarding the electrical activation of the heart. Reading the ECG can provide valuable information regarding the state of the heart, however, it does not pinpoint down the position of the heart responsible for causing the electrophysiological problem. Heart surgeons mainly use isochronal map to determine which part of the heart is defected so they could further exterminate the cells causing the problem or treating it. However, isochronal map are mapped in a two dimensional environment which would make it difficult for the medical doctors to study the abnormal patterns caused by arrhythmias. To overcome the mentioned limitation a 3D heart model for cardiac activation display is introduced.
Project targeted applications: