Heart Arrhythmia Can Be Treated Effectively With The Aid Of OpenEP Platform

Research on atrial fibrillation is fostered by the development of an open-source platform, OpenEP by researchers from the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences at King's College London published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition that is characterized by an irregular and often fast heartbeat. Major symptoms include breathlessness, palpitations, and fatigue. AF is a major contributor to stroke and heart failure.

Arrhythmias - Palpitation - Causes - Types - Evaluation - Management
Palpitations are unpleasant sensation of one’s own heartbeat.

‘Research on atrial fibrillation is fostered by the development of an open-source platform – OpenEP, that lowers the barriers of entry to electrophysiology research. The open-source code offers a standardized way of using data processing techniques thereby providing an easy reproducibility of the content to other scientists.’

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The OpenEP platform is capable of analyzing 90 % of the contemporary electrophysiology studies, thus lowers the barriers of entry to electrophysiology research. The platform also enables the researchers to focus on their specific hypothesis or research question. This standardized way of using data processing techniques allows for an easy reproducibility of the content to other scientists.

The OpenEP Platform

"For clinicians who may wish to do this sort of research but have not been able to before because of the significant barriers, many of these are now overcome. It is now possible to get the clinical data into a standardized format using the OpenEP and analyze it without writing specialized programs," says Lead author, Dr. Steven Williams, Honorary Senior Lecturer at King's School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences.

Atrial Fibrillation - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Complication, Risks
Atrial fibrillation may not be life-threatening in itself but it is important to understand the causes, symptoms and treatments because of the risk of life-threatening complications.

The study team made the code as open-source, so that the research community may verify the correctness of the implemented methods and also update them, if needed. The OpenEP platform is also utilized for research in other arrhythmias by collaborating institutions.

"We hope that OpenEP will foster collaboration with new and existing researchers in this exciting area of cardiology. Arrhythmias are a leading cause of morbidity in the UK, and we are confident that OpenEP will help to accelerate progress towards innovative treatments", says Dr. Nick Linton, Consultant Cardiologist & Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London and a senior author of the study.

Palpitations Symptom Evaluation - Causes - FAQs
The cause of palpitations is diagnosed based on the history of the patient, and heart and blood tests.

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Breathing Rate Forecasts Benefits for Arrhythmia Patients
Nocturnal respiratory rate can help identify whether a defibrillator will help extend the life of patients with arrhythmia.