3D Heart Instructional Program for Conduction Defects

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this program is to provide a superior educational tool for cardiologists and other health care professionals that are involved in the interpretation of the electrocardiogram. The electrocardiogram is frequently the first diagnostic information that is obtained, and the accuracy of this diagnosis can impact the survival rates of patients. An existing program provides the training for the recognition of the major types of myocardial infarction: Anterior, Inferior, and Posterior. The new program will add the ability to recognize the various types of conduction defects and how they appear on the normal 12-lead electrocardiograph. The uniqueness of this method is that it shows a movie in 3 dimensions of the electrical activation of the heart, along with the electrical vectors that are developed in the heart segments. A second movie shows how these vectors are related to the vector signals in the three planes - frontal, horizontal, and sagittal - and from there to the 12 leads of the normal electrocardiograph. This visual experience provides a direct relationship between the physical properties of the heart and the EGG. In the case of Ml the loss of myocardial activity has a direct relation to the loss of vectors in this direction and thus a visually related change in the 12 lead signals. In the case of conduction defects the projection of the activation wave front is changed so that the vectors are altered from the normal direction. This provides the cardiologist with a more accurate method of evaluation of the EGG and a better understanding of the relation to the heart. The method of simulation provides the accurate rendition of heart activation surfaces and the generation of vectors for each segment of the heart. It also allows the 3D generation of the movies showing the hearts activity. In the case of LBBB, the 3D picture will show that the activation wave front moves from the right ventricular septal surface to the left ventricle endocardial septal surface. This posterior direction continues as the activation surface moves around the left ventricle from the anterior to the posterior quadrants. All of these training programs will be tested with students to determine the benefit of their employment.