Systems and methods for mechanical mapping of cardiac rhythm

An imaging system for mapping behavior of a heart, comprising:

• an imaging device configured to acquire a series of two or more images of the heart over a period at one or more pixel locations, each pixel location corresponding to a region of the heart;
• and
• an image processor, coupled to the imaging device, configured to:
• obtain image data of the one or more pixel locations during the-period,
• measure a periodicity of the image data for each of the one or more pixel locations over the series of images, wherein the periodicity corresponds to an electromechanical signal of the heart in the region corresponding to the measured one or more pixel locations, and
• analyze the electromechanical signal to determine one or more patterns characteristic of an arrhythmia,
• determine a source or a type of the arrhythmia based on the one or more patterns determined from the electromechanical signal, wherein the arrhythmia comprises at least one of a focal arrhythmia, a reentrant arrhythmia, and atrial flutter, and
• if the one or more patterns determined from the electromechanical signal indicates the arrhythmia is the focal arrhythmia, identifying a location of a focal zone and a subsequent propagation of cardiac activation;
• if the one or more patterns determined from the electromechanical signal indicates the arrhythmia is the reentrant arrhythmia, perform a Fourier analysis on the electromechanical signal to determine a cycle length and one or more propagation patterns;
• and
• if the one or more patterns determined from the electromechanical signal indicates the atrial flutter, analyze strain images of the heart to identify an anatomic structure and guide ablation to treat the arrhythmia.