A compact stimulator and recorder for atrial fibrillation ablation surgery: Realization and clinical evaluation

This paper details the realization and testing of a new compact instrument optimized for use during cardiac ablation surgery. In contrast to previous research-grade instrumentation, the proposed instrument supports both recording and stimulation operations. It is characterized by an input-referred noise level of 3 μ V RMS and is capable of recording up to 48 cardiac catheter channels at a sampling rate of 1–4 KHz with a resolution of 24-bits and a maximum analogue bandwidth of 0.1–1000 Hz. Two bipolar stimulation signals can be generated in either current-mode or voltage-mode with amplitude of up to 80 mA at 14 V. Additionally, hardware blanking has been implemented to minimize the impact of stimulation artifacts on recordings. Custom firmware and software to control the instrument using a PC have been developed in conjunction with a specialist medical team. The device has been characterized electronically and tested on porcine Lagendorff heart preparations as well as in a typical clinical setup during a cardiac intervention procedure. The proposed device occupies a portable footprint of 19×14×7 cm and can replace two instruments found in a typical electrophysiology lab, a dedicated stimulator and a data acquisition unit, simplifying the hardware and software setup and thus streamlining the testing of new approaches in cardiac treatment. • New compact stimulation and recording instrument for cardiac electrophysiology. • The device enables clinicians to perform both the complex ganglion-plexi (GP) node-based atrial fibrillation ablation procedure and the pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedure. • Research is a collaboration between engineers and interventional cardiologists. • Electronic design, realisation, dry lab-based characterisation and wet lab-based evaluation. • Device use demonstrated on-humans highlighting its effectiveness as a clinical tool.