High-density multielectrode catheters are becoming increasingly popular in cardiac electrophysiology for advanced characterisation of the cardiac tissue, due to their potential to identify impaired sites. These are often characterised by abnormal electrical conduction, which may cause locally disorganised propagation wavefronts. To quantify it, a novel heterogeneity parameter based on vector field analysis is proposed, utilising finite differences to measure direction changes between adjacent cliques. The proposed Vector Field Heterogeneity metric has been evaluated on a set of simulations with controlled levels of organisation in vector maps, and a variety of grid sizes. Furthermore, it has been tested on animal experimental models of isolated Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts. The proposed parameter exhibited superior capturing ability of heterogeneous propagation wavefronts compared to the classical Spatial Inhomogeneity Index, and simulations proved that the metric effectively captures gradual increments in disorganisation in propagation patterns. Notably, it yielded robust and consistent outcomes for $\mathbf {4\times 4}$ grid sizes, underscoring its suitability for the latest generation of orientation-independent cardiac catheters.

中文翻译：

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用于评估高密度多电极局部无序心脏电传播波前的矢量场异质性

高密度多电极导管由于具有识别受损部位的潜力，在心脏电生理学中越来越受欢迎，用于对心脏组织进行高级表征。这些通常以异常导电为特征，这可能导致局部无序的传播波前。为了对其进行量化，提出了一种基于矢量场分析的新型异质性参数，利用有限差分来测量相邻团之间的方向变化。所提出的矢量场异质性度量已在一组模拟上进行了评估，这些模拟具有矢量地图中受控的组织级别和各种网格大小。此外，它已在离体 Langendorff 灌注兔心脏的动物实验模型上进行了测试。与经典的空间不均匀性指数相比，所提出的参数表现出优异的异质传播波前捕获能力，并且模拟证明该度量有效地捕获了传播模式混乱的逐渐增量。值得注意的是，它产生了稳健且一致的结果$\mathbf {4\乘4}$网格尺寸，强调其适用于最新一代与方向无关的心导管。