Patent ID: 7117030

Claim:
A method for identifying the spatial coordinates of at least one sustaining source of fibrillatory activity (“SSFA”) in a heart, said method comprising the steps of: a. simultaneously acquiring a unipolar time-dependent depolarization signal S UP (t) and a corresponding bipolar time-dependent depolarization signal S BP (t) from each acquisition point P i (x i , y i , z i ) of an acquisition set of points {P i (x i , y i , z i )} on or within said heart, each said acquisition point P i (x i , y i , z i ) having unique spatial coordinates (x i , y i , z i ) identified from a set of cardiac points {cP i (x i , y i , z i )}; b. forming a set of unipolar time-and-point-dependent depolarization signals {S UPi (t, x i , y i , z i )} by assigning to each said unipolar time-dependent depolarization signal S UP (t) the spatial coordinates (x i , y i , z i ) of the acquisition point P i (x i , y i , z i ) from which it was acquired; and, forming a set of corresponding bipolar time-and-point-dependent depolarization signals {S BPi (t, x i , y i , z i )} by assigning to each said corresponding bipolar time-dependent depolarization signal S BP (t) the spatial coordinates (x i , y i , z i ) of the acquisition point P i (x i , y i , z i ) from which it was simultaneously acquired; c. forming a set of unipolar point-dependent discrete power spectra {DPS UPi (f, x i , y i , z i )} by computing a unipolar point-dependent discrete power spectrum DPS UPi (f, x i , y i , z i ) for each said unipolar time-and-point-dependent depolarization signal S UPi (t, x i , y i , z i ); and, forming a set of corresponding bipolar point-dependent discrete power spectra {DPS BPi (f, x i , y i , z i )} by computing a corresponding bipolar point-dependent discrete power spectrum DPS BPi (f, x i , y i , z i ) for each said corresponding bipolar time-and-point-dependent depolarization signal S BPi (t, x i , y i , z i ); d. forming a set of point-dependent discrete power spectrum products {DPS PRODi (f, x i , y i , z i )} by multiplying each said unipolar point-dependent discrete power spectrum DPS UPi (f, x i , y i , z i ) of said set of unipolar point-dependent discrete power spectra {DPS UPi (f, x i , y i , z i )} by each said corresponding bipolar point-dependent discrete power spectrum DPS BPi (f, x i , y i , z i ) of said set of corresponding bipolar point-dependent discrete power spectra {DPS BPi (f, x i , y i , z i )}; e. computing a point-dependent product dominant frequency DF PRODi (x i , y i , z i ) for each point-dependent discrete power spectrum product DPS PRODi (f, x i , y i , z i ), thereby forming a set of point-dependent product dominant frequencies {DF PRODi (x i , y i , z i )}; f. selecting a maximum point-dependent product dominant frequency DF MAXPRODi (x i , y i , z i ) from said set of point-dependent product dominant frequencies {DF PRODi (x i , y i , z i )}; g. assigning the coordinates of said maximum point-dependent product dominant frequency DF MAXPRODi (x i , y i , z i ) to said at least one SSFA.