Reconstruction of cardiac displacements by capacitance transducer method

Displacements on the chest wall due to cardiac action have been measured by an electronic distance measurement technique which is based on the variation of the capacitance between the probe and the moving surface. The displacements were measured at 36 locations over the entire cardiac region along with ECG (electrocardiography) and were directly fed to an IBM PC/AT computer after analog-to-digital conversion. From these data, the displacement profile during any desired phase of ECG could be reconstructed in perspective view. These plots show the variation in the mechanical activity of the different regions of the heart during various phases of the cardiac cycle and could be used for the diagnosis of the onset of cardiac disorders.