Integrated Software Suite for Magnetocardio-graphic Data Analysis

S. Comani; D. Mantini; B. Merlino; M. Reale; S. Di Luzio; G. L. Romani

doi:10.1055/s-0038-1633929

Methods of Information in Medicine, Table of Contents

Methods Inf Med 2005; 44(01): 114-123
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1633929

Original Article

Schattauer GmbH

Integrated Software Suite for Magnetocardio-graphic Data Analysis

A Proposal Based on an Interactive Programming Environment

Authors

S. Comani

¹Department of Clinical Sciences and Bio-imaging, Section of Physical Sciences, Chieti University, Italy

²Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB) – University Foundation “G. D’Annunzio”, Chieti, Italy
D. Mantini

³Department of Informatics and Automation Engineering, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
B. Merlino

⁴Institute of Radiology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
M. Reale

⁵Department of Oncology and Neuroscience, Chieti University, Italy
S. Di Luzio

¹Department of Clinical Sciences and Bio-imaging, Section of Physical Sciences, Chieti University, Italy

²Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB) – University Foundation “G. D’Annunzio”, Chieti, Italy
G. L. Romani

¹Department of Clinical Sciences and Bio-imaging, Section of Physical Sciences, Chieti University, Italy

²Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB) – University Foundation “G. D’Annunzio”, Chieti, Italy

Abstract

Summary

Objectives: This paper describes an integrated software suite (ISS) for the processing of magnetocardiographic (MCG) recordings obtained with super-conducting multi-channel systems having different characteristics. We aimed to develop a highly flexible suite including toolboxes for current MCG applications, organized consistently with an open architecture that allows function integrations and upgrades with minimal modifications; the suite was designed for the compliance not only of physicists and engineers but also of physicians, who have a different professional profile and are accustomed to retrieve information in different ways.

Methods: The MCG-ISS was designed to work with all common graphical user interface operative systems. MATLAB was chosen as the interactive programming environment (IPE), and the software was developed to achieve usability, interactivity, reliability, modularity, expansibility, interoperability, adaptability and graphics style tailoring. Three users, already experienced in MCG data analysis, have intensively tested MCG-ISS for six months. A great amount of MCG data on normal subjects and patients was used to assess software performances in terms of user compliance and confidence and total analysis time.

Results: The proposed suite is an all-in-one analysis tool that succeeded in speeding MCG data analysis up to about 55% with respect to standard reference routines; it consequently enhanced analysis performance and user compliance.

Conclusions: Those results, together with the MCG-ISS advantage of being independent on the acquisition system, suggest that software suites like the proposed one could uphold a wider diffusion of MCG as a diagnostic tool in the clinical setting.

Keywords

Integrated software suite (ISS) - interactive programming environment (IPE) - object-oriented programming - magnetocardiographic data analysis - user-machine interaction

Full Text

References

References
1 Tavarozzi I, Comani S, Del Gratta C. et al. Magnetocardiography: current status and perspectives. Part I: Physical principles and instrumentation. Ital Heart J 2002; 3: 75-85.
2 Tavarozzi I, Comani S, Del Gratta C. et al. Magnetocardiography: current status and perspectives. Part II: Clinical applications. Ital Heart J 2002; 3: 151-65.
3 Tumanovskii M, Safonov I, Provotorov V. Certain aspects of the clinical application of magnetocardiography. Kardiologiia 1967; 7: 70-5.
4 Pesola K, Hanninen H, Lauerma K. Current density estimation on left ventricular epicardium: a potential method for ischemia localization. Biomed Tech 1999; 44: 143-6.
5 Comani S, Merlino B, Di Luzio S. et al. Magnetic map analysis during ventricular repolarization to differentiate between normal subject and patients affected by cardiac hypertrophy. Phys Med 2001; 17: 9-15.
6 Shiono J, Horigome H, Matsui A. et al. Evaluation of myocardial ischemia in Kawasaki disease using an isointegral map on magnetocardiogram. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2002; 25: 915-21.
7 Hanninen H, Takala P, Korhonen P. et al. Features of ST segment and T-wave in exercise-induced myocardial ischemia evaluated with multichannel magnetocardiography. Ann Med 2002; 34: 120-29.
8 Hailer B, Chaikovsky I, Auth-Eisernitz S, Schafer H, Steinberg F, Gronemeyer DH. Magnetocardiography in coronary artery disease with a new system in an unshielded setting. Clin Cardiol 2003; 26: 465-71.
9 Van Leeuwen P, Hailer B, Lange S, Gronemeyer D. Spatial distribution of repolarization times in patients with coronary artery disease. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2003; 26: 1706-14.
10 Kanzaki H, Nakatani S, Kandori A, Tsukada K, Miyatake K. A new screening method to diagnose coronary artery disease using multichannel magnetocardiogram and simple exercise. Basic Res Cardiol 2003; 98: 124-32.
11 Fenici R, Melillo M. Biomagnetic study of cardiac arrhythmias. Clin Phys Physiol Meas 1991; 12: A5-A10.
12 Weissmuller P, Abraham-Fuchs K, Schneider S, Richter P, Kochs M, Hombach V. Magnetocardiographic non invasive localizations of accessory pathways in the Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome by a multichannel system. Eur Heart J 1992; 13: 616-22.
13 Oeff M, Burghoff M. Magnetocardiographic localization of the origin of ventricular ectopic beats. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 1994; 17: 517-22.
14 Korhonen P, Montonen J, Makijarvi M, Katila T, Nieminen MS, Toivonen L. Late fields of the magnetocardiographic QRS complex as indicator of propensity to sustained ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2000; 11: 413-20.
15 Korhonen P, Pesola K, Jarvinen A, Makijarvi M, Katila T, Toivonen L. Relation of magnetocardiographic arrhythmia risk parameters to delayed ventricular conduction in postinfarction ventricular tachycardia. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2002; 25: 1339-45.
16 Fenici R, Brisinda D, Nenonen J, Fenici P. Noninvasive study of ventricular preexcitation using multichannel magnetocardiography. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2003; 26: 431-5.
17 Brockmeier MD, Comani S, Erné SN, Di Luzio S, Pasquarelli A, Romani GL. Magnetocardiography and exercise test. J Electrophysiol 1994; 27: 137-42.
18 Brockmeier K, Schmitz L, Bobadilla Chavez JDJ. et al. Magnetocardiography and 32-lead potential mapping: repolarization in normal subjects during pharmacologically induced stress. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 1997; 8: 615-26.
19 Takala P, Hanninen H, Montone J. et al. Magnetocardiographic and electrocardiographic exercise mapping in healthy subjects. Ann Biomed Eng 2001; 29: 501-9.
20 Hanninen H, Takala P, Korhonen P. et al. Features of ST segment and T-wave in exercise-induced myocardial ischemia evaluated with multichannel magnetocardiography. Ann Med 2002; 34: 120-9.
21 Karvonen M, Oikarinen L, Takala P. et al. Magnetocardiographic indices of left ventricular hypertrophy. J Hypertens 2002; 20: 2285-92.
22 Comani S, Gallina S, Lagatta A. et al. Concentric remodeling detection by magnetocardiography in patients with recent-onset arterial hypertension. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2004; 27: 709-18.
23 Schwartz PJ, Wolf S. QT interval prolongation as a predictor of sudden death in patients with myocardial infarction. Circulation 1978; 57: 1074-7.
24 Oikarinen L, Paavola M, Montonen J. et al. Magnetocardiographic QT interval dispersion in postmyocardial infarction patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia: validation of automated QT measurements. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 1998; 21: 1934-42.
25 Giesler T, Pohle K, Flug M. et al. Detecting the spatial distribution of QT dispersion in bipolar magnetocardiography with various myocardial infarct sites. Biomed Tech 1998; 43: 230-1.
26 Menendez T, Achenbach S, Beinder E. et al. Prenatal diagnosis of QT prolongation by magnetocardiography. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2000; 23: 1305-7.
27 Shabalin A Tret', iakova T, Kuznetsov A, Motorin S, Golyshev N. Comparative analysis of parameters of corrected and uncorrected QT-interval dispersion of magnetoelectrocardiography and isomagnetic maps in patients with ischemic heart disease. Kardiologiia 2002; 42: 20-3.
28 Comani S, Brockmeier K, Del Gratta C. et al. Magnetocardiography in healthy subjects: validation of “risk analysis”. In. Hoke M. et al. (eds) Biomagnetism: Clinical aspects. Amsterdam. Excerpta Medica; 1992: 531-4.
29 Comani S, Merlino B, Brockmeier K. et al. Role of magnetocardiography in sudden cardiac death risk evaluation: significance of RS score in a normal population. In. Baumgartner C. et al. (eds). Biomagnetism: Fundamental Research and Clinical Applications. Amsterdam: IOS; 1995: 612-4.
30 Korhonen P, Tierala I, Simelius K. et al. Late QRS activity in signal-averaged magnetocardiography, body surface potential mapping, and orthogonal ECG in postinfarction ventricular tachycardia patients. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2002; 7: 389-98.
31 Menendez T, Achenbach S, Moshage W. et al. Prenatal recording of fetal heart action with magnetocardiography. Z Kardiol 1998; 87: 111-8.
32 Van Leeuwen P, Hailer B, Bader W. et al. Magnetocardiography in the diagnosis of fetal arrhythmia. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1999; 106: 1200-8.
33 Horigome H, Takahashi MI, Asaka M, Shigemitsu S, Kandori A, Tsukada K. Magnetocardiographic determination of the developmental changes in PQ, QRS and QT intervals in the foetus. Acta Pediatr 2000; 89: 64-7.
34 Peters M, Crowe J, Piéri JF. et al. Monitoring the fetal heart non-invasively: a review of methods. J Perinat Med 2001; 29: 408-16.
35 Stinstra J, Golbach E, Van Leeuwen P. et al. Multicentre study of fetal cardiac time intervals using magnetocardiography. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 2002; 109: 1235-43.
36 Wakai RT, Strasburger JF, Li Z, Deal BJ, Gotteiner NL. Magnetocardiographic rhythm patterns at initiation and termination of fetal supraventricular tachycardia. Circulation 2003; 107: 307-12.
37 Grimm B, Kaehler C, Schleussner E, Schneider U, Haueisen J, Seewald HJ. Influence of intrauterine growth restriction on cardiac time intervals evaluated by fetal magnetocardiography. Early Hum Dev 2003; 74: 1-11.
38 Lowery CL, Campbell JQ, Wilson JD. et al. Noninvasive antepartum recording of fetal S-T segment with a newly developed 151-channel magnetic sensor system. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2003; 188: 1491-7.
39 Comani S, Liberati M, Gabriele E, Lagatta A, Di Luzio S, Romani GL. Detection of fetal arrhythmias by means of magnetocardiography: a case report. Biomed Tech 2004; 48 (02) 156-8.
40 Comani S, Liberati M, Gabriele E. et al. Fetal Intra-cardiac Intervals for Different Gestational Epochs as Evaluated from Fetal Magnetocardiograms. Biomed Tech 2004; 48 (02) 150-2.
41 Claus K. Synergy and Subsidiarity: The Systematic Determination of Software, User, and Operating Instructions. IJHCI 2000; 12: 415-30.
42 Bellotti V, Edwards K. Intelligibility and Accountability: Human Considerations in Context Aware Systems. IJHCI 2001; 16: 193-212.
43 Corritore CL, Wiedenbeck S. An Exploratory Study of Program Comprehension Strategies of Procedural and Object-Oriented Programmers. IJHCS, Academic Press 2001; 54: 1-23.
44 Della Penna S, Del Gratta C, Granata C. et al. Biomagnetic systems for clinical use. Philosoph Magaz B 2000; 80: 937-48.
45 Comani S, Mantini D, Pennesi P, Lagatta A, Cancellieri G. Independent component analysis: fetal signal reconstruction from magnetocardiographic recordings. Comput Meth Prog Biomed 2004; 75 (02) 163-77.
46 Abraham-Fuchs K, Härer W, Schneider S, Stefan H. Pattern recognition in biomagnetic signals by spatio-temporal correlation and application to the localization of propagating neuronal activity. Med Biol Eng Comput 1990; 28: 398-406.
47 Comani S, Mantini D, Lagatta A, Esposito F, Di Luzio S, Romani GL. Time course reconstruction of fetal cardiac signals from fMCG: Independent Component Analysis vs. Adaptive Maternal Beat Subtraction. Physiol Meas 2004; 25: 1305-1321.
48 Erné SN, Fenici R, Hahlbohm HD, Jaszczuk W, Lehmann HP, Masselli M. High resolution isofield mapping in Magnetocardiography. Il Nuovo Cimento 1983; 2D: 291-300.
49 Comani S, Merlino B, Di Luzio S, Erné SN, Romani GL. Magnetic map analysis during ventricular repolarization to differentiate between normal subjects and patients affected by cardiac hypertrophy. Phys Med 2001; 17 (01) 9-15.
50 Fenici R, Brisinda D, Nenonen J, Fenici P. Phantom validation of multichannel magnetocardiography source localization. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2003; 26: 426-30.
51 Fenici R, Brisinda D, Nenonen J, Fenici P. Noninvasive study of ventricular preexcitation using multichannel magnetocardiography. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2003; 26: 431-5.
52 Comani S, Tartaro A, Lagatta A, Morana G, Di Luzio S, Romani GL. Magnetocardiographic functional imaging and integration with 3D MRI reconstruction of the heart: preliminary results for source localization during myocardium activation. Physica Medica 2003; 19: 119-30.
53 Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. Heart rate variability. Eur Heart J 1996; 17: 354-81.