학술논문

The Inverse Problem Utilizing the Boundary Element Method for a Nonstandard Female Torso
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on. 58(4):876-883 Apr, 2011
Subject
Bioengineering
Computing and Processing
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Torso
Geometry
Heart
Inverse problems
Finite element methods
Conductors
Splicing
Boundary element method (BEM)
electrocardiography
epicardial
inverse problem
scaling
Language
ISSN
0018-9294
1558-2531
Abstract
This paper proposes a new method of rapidly deriving the transfer matrix for the boundary element method (BEM) forward problem from a tailored female torso geometry in the clinical setting. The method allows rapid calculation of epicardial potentials (EP) from body surface potentials (BSP). The use of EPs in previous studies has been shown to improve the successful detection of the life-threatening cardiac condition—acute myocardial infarction. The MRI scanning of a cardiac patient in the clinical setting is not practical and other methods are required to accurately deduce torso geometries for calculation of the transfer matrix. The new method allows the noninvasive calculation of tailored torso geometries from a standard female torso and five measurements taken from the body surface of a patient. This scaling of the torso has been successfully validated by carrying out EP calculations on 40 scaled torsos and ten female subjects. It utilizes the BEM in the calculation of the transfer matrix as the BEM depends only upon the topology of the surfaces of the torso and the heart, the former can now be accurately deduced, leaving only the latter geometry as an unknown.