Optically imaging cardiac activation with a laser system

The authors have developed a laser imaging system that: 1) depicts potential distribution with high spatial and temporal resolution; 2) can image large areas; 3) does not require filtering for signal or image enhancement; 4) is flexible, allowing for the acquisition of images of programmable size and shape at varying frame rates; and 5) has a large depth of field, thus minimizing the loss of focus when simultaneously imaging areas of the heart at different distances from the prime focal plane. The high duality of the images obtained with this technique allows quantitative measurements to be made of both the potential distribution and the change in this distribution over time. Here, the authors discuss the components of the system and the present their experimental results.