title: A time-domain approach for the identification of atrial fibrillation drivers.
abstract: The localization of atrial fibrillation (AF) driver sources, characterized by rapid and regular electrical activity, is crucial for an effective ablation treatment. This work proposes a double-criteria approach for the identification of AF drivers based on a time-domain evaluation of atrial rate and AF organization. These two features are quantified by the measurement of atrial cycle length (ACL) and wave-similarity (WS). Based on ACL/WS formalism, AF drivers can be operatively defined as sites displaying electrical activity with high-rate and high-similarity (HR AND HS). The capability of ACL/WS analysis to identify AF driver sites and distinguish them from non-critical areas is shown in representative examples. The double-criteria evaluation for the identification of AF drivers, provided by our time-domain approach, might open new perspectives for the development of electrogram-guided ablation strategies in the single patient.
authors.affiliation: Biosignals and Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Physics and BIOtech, University of Trento, Trento, Italy. ravelli@science.unitn.it
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ravelli
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masè
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity