Modeling and Simulation of Three Orthogonal Transthoracic Electrical-Fields for Localization Method of Intracardiac Catheter

The objective of this study is to numerically investigate the three orthogonal transthoracic electrical-fields of a newly developed catheter localization method in guiding radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) procedures. Based on an assumption of quasistatic current field, the problem of the three orthogonal transthoracic electrical-fields in this novel localization method can be formulated using the basic Laplace's equation. With the finite element method, the three electrical-fields including X axis, Y axis, and Z axis, are then modeled and solved with a detail finite element model of human torso, respectively. Moreover, the obtained electrical-field distributions within the heart are depicted spatially and compared detailedly to determine the effects of different axis on the localization accuracy. Results indicate that there are more nonuniform distribution at X axis and the more possible location error than others axes in clinical catheter positioning.