Electro-anatomical mapping without acquiring a reference signal

A system for generating an electro-anatomical map of a heart during a cardiac ablation procedure, the system comprising:

• a display;
• a memory;
• a communication interface that is commutatively coupled to at least one catheter;
• and
• one or more processors that are commutatively coupled to the communication interface, the memory, and the display;
• wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to:
• measure, using the catheter, groups of activation signals, the activation signals of each group being measured by respective electrodes of a mapping catheter placed at respective positions in the heart during corresponding time intervals, wherein at least one electrode that measured an activation signal of a first group spatially overlaps a respective electrode that measured a respective activation signal of a second group and two electrodes are deemed to spatially overlap when a distance between their respective spatial coordinates is less than a predetermined threshold;
• derive, based on a spatial overlap between electrodes of different groups, relative timing information between the groups of activation signals;
• obtain, based on the groups of activation signals and the relative timing information, respective sets of time measurements;
• construct, based on the respective sets of time measurements, the electro-anatomical map that associates activation times with corresponding spatial locations of the heart;
• and
• cause the electro-anatomical map to be displayed on the display during the cardiac ablation procedure contemporaneously with the measuring.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by at least one processor of a console to perform a method for generating an electro-anatomical map of a heart during a cardiac ablation procedure, the method comprising:

• measuring, by respective electrodes of a mapping catheter positioned within the heart during the cardiac ablation procedure, groups of activation signals, the activation signals of each group being measured while the mapping catheter is at a respective position in the heart during a corresponding time interval, wherein at least one electrode that measured an activation signal of a first group spatially overlaps a respective electrode that measured a respective activation signal of a second group and two electrodes are deemed to spatially overlap when a distance between their respective spatial coordinates is less than a predetermined threshold;
• deriving, based on a spatial overlap between electrodes of different groups, relative timing information between the groups of activation signals;
• obtaining, based on the groups of activation signals and the relative timing information, respective sets of time measurements;
• constructing, based on the respective sets of time measurements, the electro-anatomical map that associates activation times with corresponding spatial locations of the heart;
• and
• displaying, on a display of the console during the cardiac ablation procedure, the electro-anatomical map contemporaneously with the measuring.