Research focus

Department of Biomeasurements is oriented to research of measuring methods and devices for biology and medicine. Using models and computer simulations, new methods for biosignals measurement and evaluation are being searched, possibility of their use for non-invasive assessment of the state and characteristics of selected biological objects are analyzed and special measuring devices are being developed enabling their application in biomedical research and in medical diagnostics and therapy.

Currently, the research is focused on multichannel measurement of cardiac electric field on the chest surface and is aimed for non-invasive assessment of physiological state of the heart and diagnostic and therapeutic exploitation of obtained information. Models of the heart and torso as an inhomogeneous volume conductor are beineg developed, processes of cardiac activation and generation of cardiac electric field in the torso are modelled and possibilities of their use for forward ECG simulation and for inverse identification of selected pathologies are being tested, e.g. location of arrhythmogenic tissue or one or two local ischemic lesions in the myocardium. The research implies also evaluation of the sensitivity of developed models and methods to errors in real measured data.

Another research activities of the department reach measurement and analysis of gastric electrical activity, vascular pressures, signals from cardiovascular and neuromuscular system as indicators of thyroid gland function or measurement of electrograms and other physiological signals during experiments on isolated hearts of small animals.  

Selected scientific results

• In cooperation with Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology SAS, model for forward simulation of cardiac electric field was developed. The model includes analytical definition of the ventricular myocardium with conduction system and realistic geometry of inhomogeneous torso. Propagation of excitation in the myocardium is governed by cellular automaton, potentials in the chest are computed using boundary element method and equivalent cardiac generator represented as homogeneous dipole layer or multiple dipole;  
• Inverse method for localization of accessory pathway in WPW syndrome was proposed. The method is based on dipole model of the arrhythmogenic generator and its accuracy was tested using computer simulations. Verification of the method on a group of WPW patients resulted in a mean localiaztion error of the pathway of 1.5 cm;
• The ability of non-invasive identification of repolarization changes in the myocardium during local ischemia using difference ECG integral maps a and one- or two-dipole model of the electrical source corresponding to the ischemic lesions was analyzed. Possibilities of the method were tested using simulation experiments and verified on ischemic patients and patients that underwent cardiac intervention. The obtained results suggest that under common conditions a mean lesion localization error of about 2 cm can be expected;
• High resolution multi-channel measuring system for body surface potential mapping was developed. The new ProCardio 8 system uses active electrodes and can be used for non-invasive diagnostics of selected cardiac diseases based on potential and integral maps, including the above mentioned methods. The device is intended for biomedical research and for experimental clinical applications. 

Cooperations

Department of Biomeasurements closely cooperates with medical and biomedical engineering research groups in Slovakia and several other countries. Currently they include:

• Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiolgy SAS in Bratislava, Slovakia,
• National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Bratislava, Slovakia,
• Faculty of Biomedical Engineering CTU in Prague, Kladno, Czech Republic 
• Institute for Information Transmission Problems RAS in Moscow, Russia,
• Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering PAS in Warszawa, Poland.

Coperation on research projects resulted in common publications, exchange of developed programs, measured experimental results as well as common medical evaluation of proposed methods and measuring systems.

Department projects

Department implementations

Department staff