Method and apparatus for guiding ablative therapy of abnormal biological electrical excitation

A method for localizing an electrical source in the body comprising:

• placing passive electrodes on the body;
• placing at least one active electrode on the body;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes signals emanating from the electrical source;
• processing the signals emanating from the electrical source to determine the relative location of the electrical source;
• delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode;
• processing the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the at least one active electrode;
• positioning the at least one active electrode to localize the electrical source.

A method for localizing an electrical source in the body comprising:

• placing passive electrodes in the body;
• placing at least one active electrode on the body;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes signals emanating from the electrical source;
• processing the signals emanating from the electrical source to determine the relative location of the electrical source;
• delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode;
• processing the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the at least one active electrode;
• positioning the at least one active electrode to localize the electrical source.

A method for localizing an electrical source in the body comprising:

• placing passive electrodes in the body;
• placing at least one active electrode in the body;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes signals emanating from the electrical source;
• processing the signals emanating from the electrical source to determine the relative location of the electrical source;
• delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode;
• processing the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the at least one active electrode;
• positioning the at least one active electrode to localize the electrical source.

A method for localizing an electrical source in the body comprising:

• placing passive electrodes on the body;
• placing at least one active electrode in the body;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes signals emanating from the electrical source;
• processing the signals emanating from the electrical source to determine the relative location of the electrical source at a multiplicity of time epochs during the cardiac cycle, wherein the processing involves fitting the signals to a moving dipole model;
• delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• acquiring from the passive electrodes the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode;
• processing the signals emanating from the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the at least one active electrode, wherein the processing involves fitting the signals to a moving dipole model;
• and
• positioning the at least one active electrode to localize the electrical source at one of the time epochs, wherein at least one criterion is used to choose the time epoch;
• and wherein the delivering step, the second acquiring step, the second processing step, and the positioning step are performed iteratively.

An apparatus for localizing an electrical source within the body comprising:

• at least one passive electrode adapted for placement on the body;
• at least one active electrode adapted for placement in the body;
• a signal generator for delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• and
• a computer for processing the signals emanating from the electrical source and the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the electrical source and the relative location of the at least one active electrode.

An apparatus for localizing an electrical source within the body comprising:

• at least one passive electrode adapted for placement on the body;
• at least one active electrode adapted for placement on the body;
• a signal generator for delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• and
• a computer for processing the signals emanating from the electrical source and the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the electrical source and the relative location of the at least one active electrode.

An apparatus for localizing an electrical source within the body comprising:

• at least one passive electrode adapted for placement in the body;
• at least one active electrode adapted for placement on the body;
• a signal generator for delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• and
• a computer for processing the signals emanating from the electrical source and the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the electrical source and the relative location of the at least one active electrode.

An apparatus for localizing an electrical source within the body comprising:

• at least one passive electrode adapted for placement in the body;
• at least one active electrode adapted for placement in the body;
• a signal generator for delivering electrical energy to the at least one active electrode;
• and
• a computer for processing the signals emanating from the electrical source and the at least one active electrode to determine the relative location of the electrical source and the relative location of the at least one active electrode.