Two-Dimensional Body Surface Dominant Frequency by Vector-Projected 187-Channel Electrocardiography May Evaluate a Characteristics of Atrial Fibrillation

The atrial cycle length during atrial fibrillation (AFIB) and flutter (AFL) waves has been shown to be correlated with atrial refractoriness and organization. In this study, a novel body surface 2-dimensional (2D) spectral mapping of AFIB and AFL was developed using vector-projected 187-channel ECG (187ch DREAM-ECG). The study consisted of 28 patients (24 AFIB and 4 AFL with valvular heart disease). Spectral analysis of a 4 seconds of non-averaged 187ch wave during AFIB and AFL was performed by maximum entropy modeling. The 2D body surface spectral feature was displayed according to the frequency and power magnitude components of the dominant frequency. The accuracy of this spectral feature was verified by 64ch magnetocardiography (MCG). The average dominant frequency in AFL by 187ch VP-ECG was lower than that in AFIB (4.6±0.9 Hz in AFL vs. 7.2±0.9 Hz in AFIB). The average dominant frequency by 187ch SACEG was agreed well with those by 64ch MCG (y=0.86x+0.84, r2=0.89). The body surface 2D spectral feature of the dominant frequency demonstrated a homogenous spectrum pattern in AFL and a non-homogenous pattern in AFIB. In conclusion, 2D novel body surface spectral mapping of the dominant frequency using 187ch DREAM-ECG may evaluate non-invasively the atrial cycle length during AFIB and AFL.