# Arrhythmia mapping using electromechanical wave imaging

> **NIH NIH R01** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $747,962

## Abstract

Arrhythmias refer to the disruption of the natural heart rhythm. This irregular heart
rhythm causes the heart to suddenly stop pumping blood. Arrhythmias increase the risk
of heart attack, cardiac arrest and stroke. Atrial pathologies are the most common
arrhythmias with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter being the most prevalent. The number
of individuals with atrial fibrillation in the United States is expected to reach 12 million by
2050 since the prevalence increases with aging. Atrial flutter, often a result of ablative
treatment, is also expected to rise as more of these treatments are administered. On the
other hand, ventricular arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular
fibrillation denote extremely fast and chaotic rhythms, respectively, and can cause
sudden cardiac death. This is partly because there is currently no noninvasive diagnostic
imaging of arrhythmias. On the therapeutic front, in addition to pharmacological
treatment, the first line of treatment of most arrhythmias is direct current cardioversion
(DCCV), which denotes electrical defibrillation of the heart to reinstate its sinus rhythm.
Despite the fact that DCCV remains highly successful in the short-term, it remains very
difficult to determine which subjects will revert to their arrhythmias within the first 24
hours of treatment and will have to return to the healthcare premises for additional
cardioversions that, apart from the inconvenience to the patient, result in major life
disruption, pain and distress. When pharmacological treatment or cardioversion fail,
radiofrequency (RF) ablation (RFA) is warranted, which currently constitutes a lengthy
procedure (2-4 h/session) with a 55% success rate and thus often leading to repeated
treatments to typically correct prior, incomplete ablations. An imaging technique to better
inform on treatment response is thus warranted. To address the urgent need for
noninvasive arrhythmia mapping, our group has pioneered Electromechanical Wave
Imaging (EWI) that characterizes the electromechanical function throughout the four
cardiac chambers to both identify the arrhythmic source (if applicable) but also inform
treatment response. Should the findings of the proposed study indicate high reliability in
guidance of clinical procedures, this novel imaging technology could be readily
implemented in a clinical setting as part of a standard echocardiogram in order to
increase the currently low time- and cost-efficiency as well as success rates of
arrhythmia treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10792589
- **Project number:** 5R01HL140646-06
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Elisa E. Konofagou
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $747,962
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-12-15 → 2028-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10792589

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10792589, Arrhythmia mapping using electromechanical wave imaging (5R01HL140646-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10792589. Licensed CC0.

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