Distributed signal and graphics processors in cardiac mapping systems

A cardiac mapping system is essentially a measurement system designed to record biopotentials from multiple sites over the heart and/or the body surface and to process this data to provide a spatially resolved view of the ongoing cardiac activity. The authors examine how the specifications for diverse applications, such as body surface potential mapping and intraoperative activation mapping, can be met by a single system when control, signal analysis, and graphic display tasks are distributed among specialized processors built from readily available LSI circuits. A 256-channel integrated mapping system being developed by the authors is described to illustrate this approach.<>