Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 19: A new study has demonstrated that non-invasive cardiac mapping can accurately reconstruct three-dimensional electrical activity of the heart, offering a safer and more precise method to locate complex arrhythmias without invasive procedures.

Cardiac arrhythmias remain a major global health challenge, increasing the risk of stroke, heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Accurate localisation of abnormal electrical signals is essential for effective catheter ablation and treatment planning. However, most existing electrocardiographic imaging techniques are limited to mapping activity on the heart’s surface, making it difficult to identify arrhythmias originating deep within the heart muscle.

In the latest research, scientists developed a volumetric, imageless electrocardiographic imaging approach that extends non-invasive mapping beyond the epicardium into the full three-dimensional myocardium. The method combines body-surface electrical signals with advanced computational modelling to reconstruct volumetric cardiac activation.

The technique was tested using simulated premature ventricular beats and evaluated in four patients with complex rhythm disorders, including ventricular tachycardia, left bundle branch block, Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome and premature ventricular contractions arising from the right ventricular outflow tract. It was also assessed using an open-source dataset related to myocardial infarction.

The findings showed that volumetric non-invasive cardiac mapping reduced localisation errors by 59.3 per cent compared to surface-only approaches. In all patient cases, the reconstructed activation patterns closely matched clinical diagnoses, underscoring the method’s potential for clinical application.

Arrhythmias occur when the heart’s normal electrical signalling is disrupted, leading to irregular heartbeats. Conventional mapping often requires invasive catheter-based procedures, which carry procedural risks. Researchers said the new technique could support more accurate pre-procedural planning, improve guidance during ablation and help optimise cardiac resynchronisation therapy, while reducing dependence on invasive mapping.

The authors noted that the study involved a limited number of patients and stressed the need for validation through larger clinical trials. Further research will explore whether integrating three-dimensional non-invasive cardiac mapping into routine clinical practice can improve treatment outcomes and long-term patient care.