title: Vectorcardiographic lead systems for the characterization of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Lausanne University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Adriaan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Oosterom
authors.forename: Zenichi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ihara
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jacquemet
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoekema
mesh_terms: 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*