Recurrence Plots and Cross Recurrence Plots

Frontiers in Physiology, 11, 570118p. (2020) DOI:10.3389/fphys.2020.570118

A Novel Tool for the Identification and Characterization of Repetitive Patterns in High-Density Contact Mapping of Atrial Fibrillation

Introduction: Electrical contact mapping provides a detailed view of conduction patterns in the atria during atrial fibrillation (AF). Identification of repetitive wave front propagation mechanisms potentially initiating or sustaining AF might provide more insights into temporal and spatial distribution of candidate AF mechanism and identify targets for catheter ablation. We developed a novel tool based on recurrence plots to automatically identify and characterize repetitive conduction patterns in high-density contact mapping of AF. Materials and Methods: Recurrence plots were constructed by first transforming atrial electrograms recorded by a multi-electrode array to activation-phase signals and then quantifying the degree of similarity between snapshots of the activation-phase in the electrode array. An AF cycle length dependent distance threshold was applied to discriminate between repetitive and non-repetitive snapshots. Intervals containing repetitive conduction patterns were detected in a recurrence plot as regions with a high recurrence rate. Intervals that contained similar repetitive patterns were then grouped into clusters. To demonstrate the ability to detect and quantify the incidence, duration and size of repetitive patterns, the tool was applied to left and right atrial recordings in a goat model of different duration of persistent AF [3 weeks AF (3 wkAF, n