Johns Hopkins University

Lukas Rantner

Natalia A Trayanova

Fijoy Vadakkumpadan

The present invention includes a method for determining optimal placement sites for internal defibrillators in pediatric and congenital heart defect patients. The method is executed by creating a personalized active heart-torso model. The model is created using imaging scans (e.g., low resolution clinical scans) and advanced image processing techniques. The image processing results in a heart-torso mesh model. The ventricular portion of the mesh incorporates cell membrane dynamics. The combined torso-active ventricular defibrillation model can be used for patient specific modeling of the defibrillation process and optimal defibrillator placement can be determined. This method could also be used to decrease the energy needed for a defibrillation shock, because of the optimized defibrillator placement.

Method for computationally predicting optimal placement sites for internal defibrillators in pediatric and congenital heart defect patients

The present invention includes a method for cardiac defibrillation, especially low-voltage defibrillation, in a subject, including converting fibrillation into tachycardia and using feedback or an estimation thereof from the heart to time stimuli to occur when large amounts of tissue are excitable in the heart of the subject. The resultant tachycardia can then be terminated using a tachycardia termination protocol known to or conceivable by one of skill in the art. The method can be implemented using a currently available defibrillator or an internal cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) configured to apply a lower voltage shock, such as a far-field stimulation. A device designed especially for the method or another device employing this method can also be used. Because the proposed defibrillation method requires less energy than current approaches using single biphasic stimulus, defibrillator battery life is improvable or battery size decreasable. The method reduces pain and cellular damage resultant from traditional defibrillation.

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Baltimore, MD, United States of America

Lukas Rantner