Engineers Develop New Method to Diagnose Heart Arrhythmias, Columbia University Study

Abnormalities in cardiac conduction, the rate at which the heart conducts electrical impulses to contract and relax, are a major cause of death and disability around the world. Researchers at Columbia Engineering School have been developing a new method, Electromechanical Wave Imaging (EWI), that is the first non-invasive technique to map the electrical activation of the heart. Based on ultrasound imaging, EWI will enable doctors to treat arrhythmias more efficiently and more precisely. The study was published online in the May 9th Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.