Simultaneous registration of ECG and cardiac motion by a single esophageal probe

Long-term surface ECG is routinely used to diagnose paroxysmal arrhythmias. However, this method only provides information about the heart's electrical activity. To this end, we investigated a novel esophageal catheter that features synchronous esophageal ECG and acceleration measurements, the latter being a record of the heart's mechanical activity. The acceleration data were quantified in a small study and successfully linked to the activity sequences of the heart in all subjects. The acceleration signals were additionally transformed into motion. The extracted cardiac motion was proved to be a valid reference input for an adaptive filter capable of removing relevant baseline wandering in the recorded esophageal ECGs. Taking both capabilities into account, the proposed recorder might be a promising tool for future long-term heart monitoring.