Beyond the EKG, to a Hypersensitive Heart Monitor

Typical electrocardiograms are the routine way to record electrical activity and disorders of the heart. Yet they are very poor at pinpointing the area where there may be a heart problem, so a new computer-based method that uses 224 electrodes in a vest worn by patients and a computerized x-ray (CT-for three-dimensional images of the heart) is now being tested. It uses computer algorithms to map the electrical impulses, revealing the places where the cardiac rhythms go awry within 10mm, a feat compared to the usual way of detecting the arrhythmia locations which involves sticking a catheter into the heart. The detection of arrhythmia is extremely important, since sudden death can occur from it, and 250,000 people die each year from this, so this device could identify at risk individuals before a catastrophic event like death occurs. Plus, many of the electrical abnormalities that cause arryhthmia are thought to be very minute and are difficult to measure, but the increased accuracy of this device should help diagnose them. In addition, the extreme accuray of the device would allow a process called catheter ablation, where the area of the heart that causes fast rhythms is burned away with a high-frequency electric current, to be more precise and damage less tissue that was still functioning properly. The reason I thought this was so interesting, is because of its possiblity to help thousands of people with arrhythmia, and improve the surgery technique to cure or improve this problem.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/22/technology/what-s-next-beyond-the-ekg-to-a-hypersensitive-heart-monitor.html?src=pm