Overview

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice. In-vivo experimental research on AF is frequently performed in an acute surgical setting, on animals chronically instrumented by external pacing devices, or using commercial implantable pacemakers or cardioverter-defibrillators. Despite their advantages, these methods are limited by the short experimental period and the use of anesthesia, the tethering of the animal, and the limited potential for device customization; all of which may affect the experimental results. To address these limitations, a novel implantable cardiac telemetry system was designed and built for the purpose of long-term monitoring of the electrophysiological state of the atria of a conscious and untethered animal. This system was implanted in an ovine for 3 months, during which time AF was induced by chronic rapid atrial pacing. Atrial electrogram (AEG) and atrial effective refractory period (AERP) were recorded and measured periodically. During the course of chronic rapid atrial pacing, a decrease in AERP was observed, confirming the progression of the electrical remodeling process in the atria. Burst pacing therapy was also delivered using the system. The results show that the system can be used to study AF and test pacing therapies in a conscious animal frequently and non-invasively, making this system a unique research tool.

Agreement

This website provides detailed descriptions of the design and the construction process of this novel data acquisition system. The materials contained on this website are copyrighted by Duke University and are intended for private use only. It is permissible to use or modify these materials to create devices for personal research use, as long as proper reference is made to the origin of the materials. We prohibit the use of this information for any commercial or otherwise unintended uses.

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