The inverse problem of electrocardiography (ECG) involves determining the
transmembrane potential distribution within the heart from the ECG readings taken from the
torso. The problem bears importance since its solution prescribes a tool for identifying various
heart anomalies including locating the ischemic zone in the heart. The solution of the inverse
problem is typically achieved by running a finite element simulation and obtaining a matrix
relationship between torso potentials and the transmembrane potentials. The resulting system
is usually underdetermined and solved with constraint optimisation (i.e. regularisation), where
various constraints have been utilised in the literature.
In this work we introduce a novel, regularisation-free iterative technique that uses finite
element optimisation to tackle the inverse problem and locate the ischemic zone in the heart.
The technique relies on a simple parametrisation of the location of the ischemic region in a
bidomain heart model and eliminates the need for regularisation applied in the existing
methods. The parameters are iteratively evolved using a sensitivity analysis and, when
converged, indicate the location of the ischemic zone. The method is observed to successfully
find the ischemic region, independent from where it is located in the heart.
Keywords
electrocardiography, finite element optimisation, ischemic region, inverse problem
MAEJO INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY