System for monitoring and diagnosis of cardiac electrogram signals using multi-dimensional analysis

1. A system for analyzing cardiac electrophysiological signals, the system comprising:

an acquisition processor for acquiring signal data representing heart electrical activity over a plurality of heart cycles, an individual heart cycle comprising a plurality of different signal portions between successive sequential R waves;

an analyzer for

automatically analyzing both,

a first sweep based on a common portion of a plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the first sweep are synchronized with respect to a P wave, and

a second sweep based on the common portion of the plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the second sweep are synchronized with respect to an R wave, and

said analyzer identifying changes occurring in amplitude value and time duration in the first sweep and in the second sweep; and

a display processor for initiating generation of at least one display image showing the first and second sweeps synchronized in time to their respective P and R waves, adjacent and mutually vertically displaced to facilitate visual comparison, said display processor highlighting the identified changes in amplitude value or time duration by a visual attribute.

2. The system of claim 1 , including

a repository of information associating said identified change with an atrial or ventricular portion of a heart and wherein

said analyzer automatically uses said information in identifying a medical condition is associated with the atrial or ventricular portion of the heart in response to the identified change being associated with a P wave or an QRS complex.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein

said display processor generates another display image indicating the atrial or ventricular portion of the heart in response to identifying said medical condition.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer automatically sequentially analyzes a third sweep of said common portion of said plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the third sweep are synchronized with respect to a Q wave.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer automatically sequentially analyzes a third sweep of said common portion of said plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the third sweep are synchronized with respect to a S wave.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer automatically sequentially analyzes a third sweep of said common portion of said plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the third sweep are synchronized with respect to a T wave.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said visual attribute comprises at least one of, (a) color, (b) highlighting, (c) shading, (d) a symbol and (e) text.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer sequentially automatically analyzes said first and second sweeps based on said common portion of said plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said analyzer includes,

a signal sample and hold unit,

a peak detector for detecting signal peaks,

a time interval detector using a clock counter triggered from a synchronizing P wave or R wave peak detected by said peak detector and said analyzer automatically analyzes said first and second sweeps by comparing amplitude values captured by said sample and hold unit at corresponding time points of a plurality of successive synchronized heart cycles of the signal data.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein said analyzer includes,

a peak detector for detecting signal peaks,

a time interval detector using a clock counter triggered by a synchronizing P wave or R wave peak detected by said peak detector and terminating a count in response to an identified signal characteristic, said analyzer automatically analyzing said first and second sweeps by comparing time intervals associated with one of a plurality of different portions of a heart cycle.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said display processor initiates generation of the at least one display image showing the first and second sweeps of said plurality of successive heart cycles in 3-dimensions with the third dimension separating individual common portions of successive heart cycles.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said display processor initiates generation of the at least one display image showing the first and second sweeps of said plurality of successive heart cycles in 3-dimensions with a third dimension showing a signal property comprising at least one of (a) signal energy, (b) signal complexity, (c) signal instantaneous frequency spectrum and (d) signal latency.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said first or second sweep comprises a whole heart cycle or a portion less than a whole heart cycle.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer uses predetermined mapping information, associating ranges of said amplitude value and time duration or a value derived from said amplitude value and time duration with corresponding medical conditions, and compares said amplitude value and time duration or said value derived from said amplitude value and time duration, with said ranges and generates an alert message indicating a potential medical condition.

15. A system according to claim 14 , wherein

said predetermined mapping information associates ranges of said amplitude value and time duration or a value derived from said amplitude value and time duration with particular patient demographic characteristics and with corresponding medical conditions and said analyzer uses patient demographic data including at least one of age weight, gender and height in comparing said amplitude value and time duration or a value derived from said amplitude value and time duration with said ranges and generating an alert message indicating a potential medical condition.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer uses predetermined mapping information, associating thresholds of said amplitude value and time duration or a value derived from said amplitude value and time duration with corresponding medical conditions, and compares said amplitude value and time duration or said value derived from said amplitude value and time duration, with said thresholds and generates an alert message indicating a potential medical condition.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein

said analyzer identifies a nonlinearity change occurring in the first and second sweeps of the plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the said analyzer further calculates an index quantifying the identified nonlinearity change.

19. The system of claim 1 , including

a repository of information associating said identified change with an interventricular portion of a heart and wherein

said analyzer automatically uses said information in identifying a medical condition is associated with the interventricular portion of the heart in response to the identified change being associated with a U wave.

20. A method for analyzing cardiac electrophysiological signals comprising the activities of:

acquiring signal data representing heart electrical activity over a plurality of heart cycles, an individual heart cycle comprising a plurality of different signal portions between successive sequential R waves;

automatically analyzing both,

a first sweep based on a common portion of a plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the first sweep are synchronized with respect to a P wave, and

a second sweep based on the common portion of the plurality of successive heart cycles of the signal data, wherein the successive heart cycles in the second sweep are synchronized with respect to an R wave;

identifying changes occurring in amplitude value and time duration in the first sweep and in the second sweep;

initiating generation of at least one display image showing the first and second sweeps synchronized in time to their respective P and R waves, adjacent and mutually vertically displaced to facilitate visual comparison; and

highlighting the identified changes in amplitude value or time duration by a visual attribute.

21. The method of claim 20 , including the activities of,

storing in a repository, information associating said identified change with an atrial or ventricular portion of a heart, and

automatically using said information in identifying a medical condition is associated with the atrial or ventricular portion of the heart in response to the identified change being associated with a P wave or an QRS complex.