The sock electrode array: a tool for determining global epicardial activation during unstable arrhythmias.

The conventional technique for mapping the sequence of epicardial activation uses a hand-held electrode moved over the heart to record from a number of epicardial sites one at a time, and requires 5-15 minutes to record from 50 or more sites distributed over the entire ventricular epicardium. This method is inadequate for arrhythmias that are transient or vary from beat to beat. To overcome these limitations the "sock electrode array," a contour-fitting sock containing 26 or 52 electrodes, has been developed. The nylon mesh sock is pulled over the heart and permits simultaneous recording of potentials from electrodes distributed over the entire ventricular epicardium. The electrograms are recorded and converted to digital form for computer generation of isochronous maps. Most of the epicardial activation sequence derived from the sock electrode were compared to those obtained by the hand-held electrode in six normal dogs during sinus rhythm and ventricular pacing. The sequence of local activation times acquired by both methods showed similar areas of early and late activation and comparable isochronous maps. The hand-held electrode technique required 10-15 minutes for data acquisition and another 15-30 minutes for analysis. The sock electrode array allowed electrograms from 26 epicardial electrodes to be recorded simultaneously during one cardiac cycle and computer generated isochronous maps could be displayed within 10 minutes. This method allows rapid recording and analysis of epicardial electrical phenomena and should meet the time constraints imposed during the intraoperative study of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients.