Evaluating the Effects of Respiration, Body Orientation and Heart Rate on Body Surface Potentials in Healthy Subjects

In this study we investigated the influence of inspiratory and expiratory hold, reclined body position (45) and exercise-increased heart rate (HR) on the 67electrode body surface potential maps (BSPM) of healthy subjects.We computed difference maps between these conditions and resting supine position of R, S, T amplitudes.Within these difference maps we determined the value from leads with the maximal (positive and negative) differences.The location (lead) and occurrence of these maximal differences were visualized on a generic 3D torso model.Ten healthy individuals were included (Five male), with a median age of 28 yrs and showing a median HR increase of 28 bpm post exercise.From the results, inspiratory hold and increased HR had the greatest effect on the body surface potentials, specifically on the left sided leads.These findings will help to differentiate normal variations from pathological changes in signals obtained with the 67-electrode BSPM system.