Towards online use of body surface potentiaI mapping in clinical research

Body surface potential mapping (BSPM) is commonly used in clinical research. The next step is to bring BSPM to bedside use and also do basic data analysis during the measurement. In this online use, the measurement and analysis methods have to be particularly robust and easy to use. The signal quality should be good and the results repeatable. The BSPM measurement system used by Helsinki group consists of a single-use strip electrode set, a portable amplifier, and a laptop computer with docking station. In online analysis methods, easy display of potential maps plays a key role. The Helsinki group uses a 2D or 3D pseudocolor display with contour lines. In 3D visualization the isopotential surfaces are created by subdividing triangles. In software, the trade-off between reliability and incorporation of new ideas can be solved with interprocess communication. Potential uses of online BSPM are for ex ample guiding of a pacing catheter with dipole fitting. and detection of ischemia by visual analysis of ST-integral maps. Currently the bottleneck in Helsinki online BSPM system is the time-consuming preparation of the electrode set.