Quantitative analysis of sinoatrial node using Doppler tissue images

A method has been developed to quantitatively analyze sinoatrial nodes (SAN) using Doppler tissue images (DTI). Doppler tissue images of SAN are acquired using an intracardiac catheter via the superior vena cava in an in vivo experiment. A sequence of DTI images of a SAN is obtained, and a complete cycle of the SAN excitation is observed. The tissue acceleration of the SAN is extracted and quantitatively analyzed. The estimated time-acceleration curve of the SAN exhibits remarkable similarity to the electrocardiogram curve. This is the first report on such finding. The experimental results show that the tissue movement of the SAN correlates with electrical cardiac activities and closely associates with the different phases of the cardiac cycle. This method has great potential in characterizing the local cardiac activities through the study of the conduct pathway.