Design of an integrated sensor for in-vivo simultaneous electrocontractile cardiac mapping

Cardiac mapping has evolved into an important tool in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and other heart disorders in both research and clinical settings. Traditionally, cardiac mapping systems have been used to measure the electrical activity of the heart. Although these systems provide valuable information about the activation patterns of the heart, it provides no information about the mechanical activity. The goal of this study is to develop multichannel biomedical sensors that will simultaneously measure mechanical and electrical activity throughout the myocardium. The sensors integrate electronics including instrumentation amplifiers and a microcontroller (PIC12C672) for data sampling and analog-to-digital conversion. The PIC serially, synchronously outputs the digital data to a host system for visualization. Bench-top calibrations and in-vivo rabbit studies have verified the sensor's operation. This sensor is capable of making high-sensitivity simultaneous measurements of force and electrical activity, allowing the creation of both contractile and activation maps.