Signal and image processing methods for studying human ventricular fibrillation

心脏是一个多功能的机电器官，由其内部自主产生的有节奏的电脉冲驱动。当心脏的发电或传导系统出现故障或疾病时，心脏会因心律失常和混乱的收缩而颤抖，导致重要器官的血液循环无效或停止。这种医学状况通常被称为心律失常。当这种情况发生在脑室(负责排出血液的心脏下腔)时，就会发生一种称为室颤(VF)的严重疾病。如果VF在发生后几分钟内不进行治疗，就会导致心脏性猝死(SCD)。据报告，北美每年约有350,000个SCD(其中45,000个在加拿大，即每12分钟就有一个SCD)，其中大部分与VF有关。尽管人类室颤的研究已有100多年的历史，但由于这一过程的非平稳性以及研究人类室颤的伦理/实践局限性，其背后的机制仍然难以捉摸。

The heart is a versatile electro-mechanical organ that is driven by autonomously generated rhythmic electrical pulses within it. When the electrical generation or conduction system of the heart malfunctions or is diseased, the heart quivers with arrhythmic and chaotic contractions, resulting in ineffective or cessation of blood circulation to vital organs. This medical condition in general is termed as cardiac arrhythmia. When this happens in the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart responsible for pushing out blood), a serious medical condition called ventricular fibrillation (VF) occurs. VF, if untreated within minutes of its occurrence, leads to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Every year in North America about 350,000 SCDs (with 45,000 of them in Canada, i.e. an SCD every 12 minutes) are reported, most of which are VF related. In spite of its importance, and active research over 100 years, the mechanism behind human VF is still elusive because of the non-stationary nature of the process and ethical/practical limitations in studying human VF.