Biomedical subjects

Patrick D Wolf

Publications and source records attributed to Patrick D Wolf.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

3-D ultrasound guidance of surgical robotics: a feasibility study.

Laparoscopic ultrasound has seen increased use as a surgical aide in general, gynecological, and urological procedures. The application of real-time, three-dimensional (RT3D) ultrasound to these laparoscopic procedures may increase information available to the surgeon and serve as an additional intraoperative guidance tool. The integration of RT3D with recent advances in robotic surgery also can increase automation and ease of use. In this study, a 1-cm diameter probe for RT3D has been used laparoscopically for in vivo imaging of a canine. The probe, which operates at 5 MHz, was used to image the spleen, liver, and gall bladder as well as to guide surgical instruments. Furthermore, the three-dimensional (3-D) measurement system of the volumetric scanner used with this probe was tested as a guidance mechanism for a robotic linear motion system in order to simulate the feasibility of RT3D/robotic surgery integration. Using images acquired with the 3-D laparoscopic ultrasound device, coordinates were acquired by the scanner and used to direct a robotically controlled needle toward desired in vitro targets as well as targets in a post-mortem canine. The rms error for these measurements was 1.34 mm using optical alignment and 0.76 mm using ultrasound alignment.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Real-time, 3-D ultrasound with multiple transducer arrays.

Modifications were made to a commercial real-time, three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound system for near simultaneous 3-D scanning with two matrix array transducers. As a first illustration, a transducer cable assembly was modified to incorporate two independent, 3-D intra-cardiac echo catheters, a 7 Fr (2.3 mm O.D.) side scanning catheter and a 14 Fr (4.7 mm O.D) forward viewing catheter with accessory port, each catheter using 85 channels operating at 5 MHz. For applications in treatment of atrial fibrillation, the goal is to place the sideviewing catheter within the coronary sinus to view the whole left atrium, including a pulmonary vein. Meanwhile, the forward-viewing catheter inserted within the left atrium is directed toward the ostium of a pulmonary vein for therapy using the integrated accessory port. Using preloaded, phasing data, the scanner switches between catheters automatically, at the push of a button, with a delay of about 1 second, so that the clinician can view the therapy catheter with the coronary sinus catheter and vice versa. Preliminary imaging studies in a tissue phantom and in vivo show that our system successfully guided the forward-viewing catheter toward a target while being imaged with the sideviewing catheter. The forward-viewing catheter then was activated to monitor the target while we mimicked therapy delivery. In the future, the system will switch between 3-D probes on a line-by-line basis and display both volumes simultaneously.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

A membrane model of electrically remodelled atrial myocardium derived from in vivo measurements.

AIMS: Contemporary ionic-based membrane models are computationally expensive and are not intended to match the properties of a given experimental preparation. The aim of this work was to use measured restitution properties of electrically remodelled atrial tissue to develop a simplified membrane model based on the Fenton-Karma (FK) equations amenable to large-scale simulation of chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF). METHODS: Two membrane models, the FK-CAF and FK-CNTRL parameter sets, were developed to match action potential duration (APD) and conduction velocity (CV) restitution properties of rapid-pacing-induced electrically remodelled sheep atria and healthy atria, respectively. The models were tested by inducing reentry in a two-dimensional anisotropic monodomain and comparing the resulting cycle lengths (CL) with measured CLs. RESULTS: Parameters for the FK models were obtained that reproduced APD and CV restitution properties measured in the CAF and healthy sheep atria. Using the FK-CAF parameters, reentry was sustained in a 2.5 by 2.5 cm sheet with a CL = 91.0 +/- 3.0 ms. Reentry (CL = 113.2 +/- 5.2 ms) could only be sustained in the FK-CNTRL model after the tissue was first activated at a fast rate (136.5 ms). CONCLUSIONS: The FK-CAF model is shown to approximate the restitution properties of remodelled sheep atria and can be used to simulate reentry with short CLs similar to those measured during AF episodes.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2005

Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging of myocardial radiofrequency ablation: initial in vivo results.

Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging techniques were used to monitor radiofrequency (RF) ablation of ovine cardiac tissue in vivo. Additionally, ARFI M-mode imaging methods were used to interrogate both healthy and ablated regions of myocardial tissue. Although induced cardiac lesions were not visualized well in conventional B-mode images, ARFI images of ablation procedures allowed determination of lesion location, shape, and relative size through time. The ARFI M-mode images were capable of distinguishing differences in behavior through the cardiac cycle between healthy and damaged tissue regions. As conventional sonography is often used to guide ablation catheters, ARFI imaging, which requires no additional equipment, may be a convenient modality for monitoring lesion formation in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Real-time 3D laparoscopic ultrasonography.

We have previously described 2D array ultrasound transducers operating up to 10 MHz for applications including real time 3D transthoracic imaging, real time volumetric intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), real time 3D intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging, and real time 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). We have recently built a pair of 2D array transducers for real time 3D laparoscopic ultrasonography (3D LUS). These transducers are intended to be placed down a trocar during minimally invasive surgery. The first is a forward viewing 5 MHz, 11 x 19 array with 198 operating elements. It was built on an 8 layer multilayer flex circuit. The interelement spacing is 0.20 mm yielding an aperture that is 2.2 mm x 3.8 mm. The O.D. of the completed transducer is 10.2 mm and includes a 2 mm tool port. The average measured center frequency is 4.5 MHz, and the -6 dB bandwidth ranges from 15% to 30%. The 50 omega insertion loss, including Gore MicroFlat cabling, is -81.2 dB. The second transducer is a 7 MHz, 36 x 36 array with 504 operating elements. It was built upon a 10 layer multilayer flex circuit. This transducer is in the forward viewing configuration and the interelement spacing is 0.18 mm. The total aperture size is 6.48 mm x 6.48 mm. The O.D. of the completed transducer is 11.4 mm. The average measured center frequency is 7.2 MHz, and the -6 dB bandwidth ranges from 18% to 33%. The 50 omega insertion loss is -79.5 dB, including Gore MicroFlat cable. Real-time in vivo 3D images of canine hearts have been made including an apical 4-chamber view from a substernal access with the first transducer to monitor cardiac function. In addition, we produced real time 3D rendered images of the right pulmonary veins from a right parastemal access with the second transducer, which would be valuable in the guidance of cardiac ablation catheters for treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

A multichannel telemetry system for single unit neural recordings.

We present the design, testing, and evaluation of a 16 channel wearable telemetry system to facilitate multichannel single unit recordings from freely moving test subjects. Our design is comprised of (1) a 16-channel analog front end board to condition and sample signals derived from implanted neural electrodes, (2) a digital board for processing and buffering the digitized waveforms, and (3) an index-card sized 486 PC equipped with an IEEE 802.11b wireless ethernet card. Digitized data (up to 12 bits of resolution at 31.25k samples/s per channel) is transferred to the PC and sent to a nearby host computer on a wireless local area network. Up to 12 of the 16 channels were transmitted simultaneously for sustained periods at a range of 9 m. The device measures 5.1 cm x 8.1 cm x 12.4 cm, weighs 235 g, and is powered from rechargeable lithium ion batteries with a lifespan of 45 min at maximum transmission power. The device was successfully used to record signals from awake, chronically implanted macaque and owl monkeys.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2004

A low power multichannel analog front end for portable neural signal recordings.

We present the design and testing of a 16-channel analog amplifier for processing neural signals. Each channel has the following features: (1) variable gain (70-94 dB), (2) four high pass Bessel filter poles (f(-3 dB)=445 Hz), (3) five low pass Bessel filter poles (f(-3 dB)=6.6 kHz), and (4) differential amplification with a user selectable reference channel to reject common mode background biological noise. Processed signals are time division multiplexed and sampled by an on-board 12-bit analog to digital converter at up to 62.5k samples/s per channel. The board is powered by two low dropout voltage regulators which may be supplied by a single battery. The board measures 8.1 cm x 9.9 cm, weighs 50 g, and consumes up to 130 mW. Its low input-referred noise (1.0 microV(RMS)) makes it possible to process low amplitude neural signals; the board was successfully tested in vivo to process cortically derived extracellular action potentials in primates. Signals processed by this board were compared to those generated by a commercially available system and were found to be nearly identical. Background noise generated by mastication was substantially attenuated by the selectable reference circuit. The described circuit is light weight and low power and is used as a component of a wearable multichannel neural telemetry system.

Amplifiers, Electronic↗

PubMed2004

Feasibility study: real-time 3-D ultrasound imaging of the brain.

We tested the feasibility of real-time, 3-D ultrasound (US) imaging in the brain. The 3-D scanner uses a matrix phased-array transducer of 512 transmit channels and 256 receive channels operating at 2.5 MHz with a 15-mm diameter footprint. The real-time system scans a 65 degrees pyramid, producing up to 30 volumetric scans per second, and features up to five image planes as well as 3-D rendering, 3-D pulsed-wave and color Doppler. In a human subject, the real-time 3-D scans produced simultaneous transcranial horizontal (axial), coronal and sagittal image planes and real-time volume-rendered images of the gross anatomy of the brain. In a transcranial sheep model, we obtained real-time 3-D color flow Doppler scans and perfusion images using bolus injection of contrast agents into the internal carotid artery.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Minimum energy single-shock internal atrial defibrillation in sheep.

Well-tolerated internal atrial defibrillation shocks must be below the pain threshold, which has been estimated to be less than 1 Joule. Defibrillation of the atria with low energy is made possible by delivering shocks at the low end of the defibrillation dose-response curve. We studied low-energy defibrillation in sheep to test the hypothesis that the energy that defibrillates the atria 10% of the time (ED10) is less than 1 Joule. The ED10 was estimated in seven sheep with rapid pacing induced chronic atrial fibrillation (AF). Low-energy defibrillation shocks were delivered from coronary sinus (CS) to superior vena cava (SVC) and the ED10 and ED50 (energy that defibrillates the atria 50% of the time) were then calculated using logistic regression. The mean ratio of ED10 to ED50 was 0.50, indicating that on average, the ED10 was equal to half of the ED50. ED10 shocks had energies ranging from 1.2 to 5.8 Joules. These results suggest that painless single-shock low-energy defibrillation may not be feasible.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Transmural action potential repolarization heterogeneity develops postnatally in the rabbit.

INTRODUCTION: In the hereditary long QT syndrome, arrhythmia risk changes with age despite the presence of an ion channel mutation throughout development. Age-dependent changes in the transmural dispersion of repolarization may modulate this vulnerability. We recorded cardiac action potentials in infant, periadolescent, and adult rabbit myocardium to determine if transmural heterogeneities in repolarization are developmentally determined. METHODS AND RESULTS: Arterially perfused ventricular preparations were studied from 2-week (n = 7), 7-week (n = 7), and adult (n = 6) NZW rabbits. Action potentials were recorded with microelectrodes in five regions: epicardium (epi), subepicardium (subepi), midwall (mid), subendocardium (subendo), and endocardium (endo) during endocardial S1 pacing at cycle lengths of 2,000, 1,000, and 500 ms. At 2 weeks, the transmural APD90 profile was flat. With age, APD prolongation from subepi to endo created a transmural repolarization gradient. At 7 weeks, APD90 was significantly longer at subendo [204 +/- 2 ms (mean +/- SE) 2,000-ms cycle length, P < 0.05] vs both endo (193 +/- 2 ms) and epi (172 +/- 2 ms), causing a heterogeneous transmural APD90 gradient. In adults, the transmural gradient was a smooth continuum such that APD was shortest in epicardium and longest in endocardium. CONCLUSION: The transmural distribution of APD is developmentally determined. Tissue-specific age-dependent changes in APD can result in transmural repolarization heterogeneity. These age-related effects may modulate arrhythmia vulnerability during development.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2004

A novel implantable cardiac telemetry system for studying atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice. Most in vivo experimental research on AF is performed in a surgical setting, on animals instrumented by external devices, or using commercial implantable pacemakers. This paper describes a novel implantable cardiac telemetry system, which allows the study of AF remotely in conscious and ambulatory animals over a few month period. To validate this concept, the system was built and implanted in a sheep for 3 months. During this period, the system was used to deliver chronic rapid atrial pacing for AF induction, and to record and measure atrial electrograms and atrial effective refractory period (AERP) daily. During the course of AF induction the AERP decreased, confirming the progression of the electrical remodeling process in the atria. Episodes of paroxysmal AF were successfully induced in the animal. Burst pacing therapy was delivered with the system, however, no AF termination was observed. Result shows that this telemetry-based pacing and monitoring system can be used to study AF in a conscious animal non-invasively for an extended period of time, making this system a unique research tool.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Evaluation of spike-detection algorithms for a brain-machine interface application.

Real time spike detection is an important requirement for developing brain machine interfaces (BMIs). We examined three classes of spike-detection algorithms to determine which is best suited for a wireless BMI with a limited transmission bandwidth and computational capabilities. The algorithms were analyzed by tabulating true and false detections when applied to a set of realistic artificial neural signals with known spike times and varying signal to noise ratios. A design-specific cost function was developed to score the relative merits of each detector; correct detections increased the score, while false detections and computational burden reduced it. Test signals both with and without overlapping action potentials were considered. We also investigated the utility of rejecting spikes that violate a minimum refractory period by occurring within a fixed time window after the preceding threshold crossing. Our results indicate that the cost-function scores for the absolute value operator were comparable to those for more elaborate nonlinear energy operator based detectors. The absolute value operator scores were enhanced when the refractory period check was used. Matched-filter-based detectors scored poorly due to their relatively large computational requirements that would be difficult to implement in a real-time system.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2004

Transmission latencies in a telemetry-linked brain-machine interface.

To be clinically viable, a brain-machine interface (BMI) requires transcutaneous telemetry. Spike-based compression algorithms can be used to reduce the amount of telemetered data, but this type of system is subject to queuing-based transmission delays. This paper examines the relationships between the ratio of output to average input bandwidth of an implanted device and transmission latency and required queue depth. The examination was performed with a computer model designed to simulate the telemetry link. The input to the model was presorted spike data taken from a macaque monkey performing a motor task. The model shows that when the output bandwidth/average input bandwidth is in unity, significant transmission latencies occur. For a 32-neuron system, transmitting 50 bytes of data per spike and with an average neuron firing rate of 8.93 spikes/s, the average maximum delay was approximately 3.2 s. It is not until the output bandwidth is four times the average input bandwidth that average maximum delays are reduced to less than 10 ms. A comparison of neuron firing rate and resulting latencies shows that high latencies result from neuron bursting. These results will impact the design of transcutaneous telemetry in a BMI.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2004

A miniaturized catheter 2-D array for real-time, 3-D intracardiac echocardiography.

The design, fabrication, and characterization of a 112 channel, 5 MHz, two-dimensional (2-D) array transducer constructed on a six layer flexible polyimide interconnect circuit is described. The transducer was mounted in a 7 Fr (2.33 mm outside diameter) catheter for use in real-time intracardiac volumetric imaging. Two transducers were constructed: one with a single silver epoxy matching layer and the other without a matching layer. The center frequency and -6 dB fractional bandwidth of the transducer with a matching layer were 4.9 MHz and 31%, respectively. The 50 omega pitch-catch insertion loss was 80 dB, and the typical interelement crosstalk was -30 dB. The final element yield was greater than 97% for both transducers. The transducers were used to acquire real-time, 3-D images in an in vivo sheep model. We present in vivo images of cardiac anatomy obtained from within the coronary sinus, including the left and right atria, aorta, coronary arteries, and pulmonary veins. We also present images showing the manipulation of a separate electrophysiological catheter into the coronary sinus.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Real-time 3D color flow Doppler for guidance of vibrating interventional devices.

The goal of this investigation was to examine the feasibility of guiding interventional devices using piezoelectric buzzers to create velocity sources, which were imaged and tracked with real-time 3D color flow Doppler. The interventional devices examined in this study included a pacemaker lead, Brockenbrough needle for cardiac septal puncture, cardiac guidewire and radiofrequency ablation needles for cancer therapy. Each was mechanically coupled to a piezoelectric buzzer and was imaged using a commercial real-time 3D ultrasound system with either a 2.5 MHz matrix array transducer or a 5 MHz, 22 F catheter transducer equipped with a tool port. In vitro images acquired in tissue phantoms, excised liver with a 'tumor' target and an excised sheep heart show strong vibration signals in 3D color flow Doppler, enabling real-time tracking and guidance of all the devices in three dimensions. In a sheep model, in vivo tracking of the pacing lead was performed in the superior vena cava as well as the right atrium using RT3D color flow Doppler images. The vibrating rf ablation needles were guided through the liver toward "tumor" targets in vivo with real-time 3D color flow Doppler images.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Real-time 3D transesophageal echocardiography.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is an essential diagnostic tool in patients with poor transthoracic echocardiographic windows or when detailed imaging of structures distant from the chest wall is necessary. A real-time 3D TEE probe has been fabricated in our laboratory in order to increase the amount of information available during a transesophageal procedure. The 1 cm diameter esophageal probe utilizes a 2-dimensional, 5 MHz array at its tip with a 6.3 mm diameter aperture, including 504 active channels. The array has a periodic vernier geometry with an element pitch of 0.18 mm, built onto a multilayer flexible (MLF) interconnect circuit. In order to accommodate 504 channels within the device, a 1 m long Gore MicroFlat cable was utilized for wiring the MLF to the corresponding system connectors. Pulse-echo tests in a water tank have yielded a -6 dB bandwidth of 25.3%. Fully connected to the system through 3 m of cable, the probe shows an average 50 omega insertion loss of-85 dB with a standard deviation of 4 dB, as determined through pitch-catch measurements for a sampling of 10 elements. Using the completed 3D TEE probe with the Volumetrics Medical Imaging 3D scanner, real-time volumetric images of in vivo canine cardiac anatomy have been acquired, displaying atrial views, mitral valve function and interventional catheter guidance.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

A simulation study of information transmission by multi-unit microelectrode recordings.

To analyse the information content of multi-unit signals, cases of two and three superimposed neural responses to a stimulus were simulated. The multi-unit Shannon information rates were compared with those of the constituent single-unit spike trains and also with those of corresponding labelled line signals. The mutual information in the multi-unit response was found to depend on the degree of similarity in the attribute-specific information of the single-unit spike trains. As long as the units were encoding similar attribute-specific information, the multi-unit signal had greater information than any of the individual units. If the units' responses were confounded by different amounts, the multi-unit response could not recover the maximal single-unit information. Labelled line and pooled responses had similar mutual information when the information in the constituent units was similar. However, the normalized gain in information of a labelled line response over a pooled response increased from 27% to 84%, relative to the maximum single-unit information rate, as the difference in constituent single-unit information increased to 100%. Information in single-unit responses is not completely lost when multiple units are superimposed. There are cases in which the union of single-unit spike trains can fully conserve single-unit information and even reduce the effect of confounding information present in the individual responses. More information is available in pairs of responses when the identities of the units are maintained. Summed responses can be used at low informational cost in redundantly encoding clusters of neurons. Higher information losses are incurred as the encoding becomes more independent.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2003

Dual lumen transducer probes for real-time 3-D interventional cardiac ultrasound.

We have developed dual lumen probes incorporating a forward-viewing matrix array transducer with an integrated working lumen for delivery of tools in real-time 3-D (RT3-D) interventional echocardiography. The probes are of 14 Fr and 22 Fr sizes, with 112 channel 2-D arrays operating at 5 MHz. We obtained images of cardiac anatomy and simultaneous interventional device delivery with an in vivo sheep model, including: manipulation of a 0.36-mm diameter guidewire into the coronary sinus, guidance of a transseptal puncture using a 1.2-mm diameter Brockenbrough needle, and guidance of a right ventricular biopsy using 3 Fr biopsy forceps. We have also incorporated the 22 Fr probe within a 6-mm surgical trocar to obtain apical four-chamber ultrasound (US) scans from a subcostal position. Combining the imaging catheter with a working lumen in a single device may simplify cardiac interventional procedures by allowing clinicians to easily visualize cardiac structures and simultaneously direct interventional tools in a RT3-D image.

Animals↗