Vectorcardiographic lead systems for the characterization of atrial fibrillation.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to design a vectorcardiographic lead system dedicated to the analysis of atrial fibrillation (AF).


METHODS
Body surface potentials during AF were simulated by using a biophysical model of the human atria and thorax. The XYZ components of the equivalent dipole were derived from the Gabor-Nelson equations. These served as the gold standard while searching for an optimal orthogonal lead system for the estimation of the heart vector while using a limited number of electrode positions. Six electrode configurations and their dedicated transfer matrices were tested by using 10 different episodes of simulated AF and 25 different thorax geometries.


RESULTS
Root-mean-square-based relative estimation error of the vectorcardiogram using the Frank electrodes was 0.39. An adaptation of 4 of the 9 electrode locations of the standard electrocardiogram, with 1 electrode moved to the back, reduced the error to 0.24.


CONCLUSIONS
The Frank lead system is suboptimal for estimating the equivalent dipole components (VCG) during AF. Alternative electrode configurations should include at least 1 electrode on the back.
van Oosterom
Adriaan
A
Department of Cardiology, Lausanne University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ihara
Zenichi
Z
Jacquemet
Vincent
V
Hoekema
Rudi
R
D000200:Action Potentials; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D004566:Electrodes; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D014672:Vectorcardiography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*