System and method for cardiac resynchronization

1. A cardiac resynchronization method, comprising:

generating and displaying on a display unit a three-dimensional (3D) activation map showing the propagation of electrical signals through a heart of a patient;

identifying a stimulation point on the heart for cardiac resynchronization;

displaying a real-time image of the heart on the display unit;

aligning the display of the real-time image with the display of the 3D activation map on the display unit;

identifying a first location on the real-time image that corresponds to the stimulation point;

displaying a virtual activation point on the real-time image at the first location;

displaying on the real-time image a pacing device as the pacing device is implanted into the patient;

aligning the pacing device with the virtual stimulation point so that the pacing device is located at the identified stimulation point; and

stimulating the heart at the stimulation point using the pacing device,

wherein the real-time image comprises one or more images of the heart received from a fluoroscope, a radiography device, or an X-ray computed tomography (CT) device.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

updating the activation map based on the stimulation provided by the pacing device; and

determining whether the heart has at least a predetermined level of synchronization, based on the updated activation map.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein when the heart is determined not have a predetermined level of synchronization, the method further comprises:

identifying a second stimulation point on the heart for cardiac resynchronization;

identifying a second location on the real-time image that corresponds to the stimulation point;

adding a second virtual activation point at the second location to the real-time image displayed on the display unit; and

moving the pacing device to the second stimulation point.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein when the heart does not have a predetermined level of synchronization, the method further comprises:

identifying a second stimulation point on the heart for cardiac resynchronization;

identifying a second location on the real-time image that corresponds to the stimulation point;

adding a second virtual activation point at the second location to the real-time image displayed on the display unit; and

adding a second pacing device to the second stimulation point.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation point comprises a point in a left ventricle of the heart where a depolarization wave is delayed or begins.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pacing device is a micro-pacemaker or pacemaker electrode leads.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

identifying a stimulation point on the heart for cardiac resynchronization further comprises identifying multiple stimulation points on the heart; and

displaying a virtual activation point on the real-time image comprises displaying a virtual stimulation point for each identified stimulation point.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein implanting a pacing device into the patient at the identified stimulation point comprises implanting a micro-pacemaker at each virtual stimulation point.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time image comprises sequential X-ray images.

10. A cardiac resynchronization system, comprising:

a processing unit comprising:

an activation map generator configured to generate a three-dimensional (3D) activation map of the heart of a patient;

a synchronicity determination unit configured to calculate ventricle synchronicity of the heart, based on the activation map;

a stimulation point generator configured to a identify stimulation point on the heart for increasing the synchronicity of the heart; and

an image integrator configured to align the real-time images of the heart with the 3D activation map and add virtual stimulation points to the real-time images, the virtual stimulation points corresponding to the identified stimulation points; and

a display coupled to the processing unit and configured to display the real-time images of the heart and images generated by the image integrator,

wherein the real-time images comprise images of the heart received from a fluoroscope, a radiography device, or an X-ray computed tomography (CT) device.

11. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the activation map generator is configured to generate the 3D activation map based on electrocardiograph (ECG) data of the patient, three-dimensional (3D) image data of the thorax of the patient, and a 3D anatomical model of the patient.

12. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the image generator is configured to add the virtual stimulation points to the real-time images.

13. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the activation map generator is configured to update the activation map based on ECG data received after a pacing device has been implanted in the patient and activated.

14. The imaging system of claim 13 , wherein the synchronicity determination unit is configured to recalculate the ventricle synchronicity, after the pacing device has been implanted and activated.

15. The imaging system of claim 13 , wherein the stimulation point generator is configured to determine whether the stimulation point should be moved, based on the recalculated ventricle synchronicity.

16. The imaging system of claim 13 , wherein the stimulation point generator is configured to determine whether a second stimulation point should be added, based on the recalculated ventricle synchronicity.

17. The imaging system of claim 13 , wherein the pacing device comprises a micro-pacemaker or pacemaker electrode leads.

18. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the display is configured to simultaneously display the activation map and the real-time images.

19. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the stimulation point generator is configured to identify multiple stimulation points on the heart.