Imaging three-dimensional ventricular activation sequence under dual-site pacing in a rabbit model

In the present study, computer simulations were conducted to evaluate the performance of a recently reported three-dimensional ventricular activation sequence imaging technique based on the inverse solution of distributed equivalent current density. The present simulation setting utilized the realistic geometries and conductivities of a real rabbit's heart and torso. Ventricular activation was simulated by dual pacing in a cellular automaton heart model. The imaging performance was assessed by quantitatively comparing the estimated and simulated activation time distributions, as indexed by the correlation coefficient (CC) and relative error (RE). Based on 197-channel body surface potential maps (BSPMs) with 20-mu V additive Gaussian white noise (GWN), the activation sequence could be consistently reconstructed (CC=0.89 and RE=0.24 averaged over 10 pairs of pacing sites). These results provide important baseline data for future experimental validation studies based on the rabbit model.