EECG Imaging - Combination of 3D Echo- and inverse ElectroCardioGraphy

The START Y144-N04 program is about the noninvasive imaging of cardiac electrical function in the human heart for purpose of diagnosis of complex arrhythmias.
The electrical function within the cardiac muscle is reconstructed by coupling anatomical and electrical information. Great expectations persist on the part of the developer and potential users of this novel method, in particular in view of a better localization of the onset cardiac arrhythmias.
Due to novel and improved measurement techniques and the availability of enormous computer capacity, coupled with physical and physiological knowledge about the target organ, medical imaging is becoming of particular importance in diagnosis. Beside pure anatomical imaging, during the last years major efforts have been undertaken, in devel-oping high-dimensional functional imaging.
The most important target organs are the human brain and heart. With respect to the human heart, novel methods are under development for the imaging of movement, contraction, perfusion, metabolism and electrical function. This six-year research program started in September 2000 and its goal is to extend the imaging modalities like magnetic resonance imaging (MR), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US), and biplane-fluoroscopy (BF) by the imaging of electrical function.

The project is continued at the University of Health Sciences in Insbruck.