Method and device for multidimensional analysis of the dynamics of cardiac activity

1 . A method for measuring multidimensional dynamics of cardiac activity, the method comprising simultaneously measuring:

three dimensional electrocardiogram (ECG) signals with a three dimensional ECG measurement system via a first set of electrodes configured for placement on a body of a subject,

three dimensional impedance rheometry signals with an impedance rheometry system via a second set of electrodes configured for placement on the body of the subject, wherein the impedance rheometry signals measurement is performed for three orthogonal axes, and planes defined by the three orthogonal axes are configured to intersect a region of a heart of the subject, and

tissue motion signals, wherein the tissue motion signals are measured with a sensor configured to be placed outside the body of the subject, the sensor being selected from among a membrane, an auscultation funnel, an accelerometer, a microphone, or a piezoelectric sensor,

wherein the impedance rheometry signals measurement further comprises:

simultaneous generation of applied current of different frequencies for three orthogonal axes;

simultaneous impedance measurement for the same or other three orthogonal axes; and

extracting real and imaginary parts of the impedance signals using signal processing hardware; and

wherein the impedance rheometry signals measurement and the ECG signals measurement are carried out for the same three orthogonal axes;

wherein measurement data from the sensor, the first set of electrodes and the second set of electrodes are processed by a control system coupled to the three dimensional ECG measurement system and the impedance rheometry system, is the control system being configured to calculate parameters related to myocardium activity and integrate the measurement data into a multidimensional cardiac activity analysis.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the ECG measurement, the impedance rheometry measurement and the generation of applied current are carried out using electrodes in a Frank configuration or in a Leyko-Jamroży configuration, where:

a Z axis is determined by a first electrode configured to be located in a right supraclavicular fossa and a second electrode configured to be located in a position of a apex beat,

a X axis is determined by a third electrode configured to be located at Erb's point and a fourth electrode configured to be located in a right posterior axillary line at its intersection with a line perpendicular to the Z axis and passing through the first electrode of the X axis, and

a Y axis is determined by a fifth electrode configured to be located in a left posterior axillary line at a height of a third or fourth intercostal space and a sixth electrode configured to be disposed on a surface of the body at an exit point of a line passing through a first point of the Y axis and a point intersecting the X and Z axes.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the measurements are carried out using one time base.

4 . A device for multidimensional analysis of the dynamics of cardiac activity, the device comprising:

a three dimensional electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement system comprising a first set of electrode configured to be disposed on a body of a subject for receiving three dimensional ECG signals;

a three dimensional impedance rheometry measurement system comprising:

an impedance measuring module;

a signal generator configured to generate applied currents of different frequencies for each orthogonal axis;

a second set of electrodes configured to be disposed on the body of the subject for receiving three dimensional impedance rheometry signals, wherein the impedance rheometry signals measurement is performed for three orthogonal axes, and planes defined by the three orthogonal axes are configured to intersect a region of a heart of the subject,

at least one tissue motion sensor configured to be disposed outside of the body of the subject, the at least one tissue motion sensor being selected from one or more of a membrane sensor, an auscultation funnel, an accelerometer, a microphone piezoelectric sensor;

a hardware signal processor configured to process the measured data from the sensor, the first set of electrodes and the second set of electrodes simultaneously, extract real and imaginary components of the impedance, and compute multidimensional cardiac activity parameters including physical currents, energy, and work; and

a time-synchronized controller module providing a common time base for all measurements.

5 . The device according to claim 4 , wherein the device comprises an interface for data transfer.

6 . The device according to claim 4 , wherein the device comprises a pulse oximetry device with PTT measurement; and

wherein the hardware signal processor is configured to integrate PTT data with the multidimensional cardiac activity analysis.

7 . The device according to claim 4 , further comprising a data interface configured to transmit the processed cardiac dynamics data to an external system.