SAS
Ing. Jana Švehlíková, PhD.
Head of the department
Research focus
The Department of Biometrics focuses on research into measurement methods and instruments for biology and medicine. Using models and computer simulations, new methods for measuring biosignals are proposed, new methods for their use in non-invasive determination of the state and characteristics of selected biological objects are investigated, and specialized measurement systems are developed that enable their application in biomedical research and in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Current research focuses on multichannel measurement of the heart’s electric field on the chest surface, with the aim of non-invasively determining the physiological state of the heart and using the information obtained for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Methods are proposed for processing measured signals that capture both their natural and pathological variability.
Models of the heart and chest as a non-homogeneous volume conductor are proposed, and the processes of heart activation and electric field generation in the chest are modelled.
The possibilities of using models for direct ECG simulation and inverse identification of selected pathologies, known as electrocardiographic imaging, are being verified. The research also includes an evaluation of the sensitivity of solutions to errors in real measured data and simplifications in the models used.
Alongside research into methods for processing multi-channel (multi-lead) measurements of the heart’s electrical field, the development of the relevant measuring equipment is also underway. The ProCardio8 system currently in use will be replaced by an alternative with wireless communication (data transfer) between the measuring device and the electrodes.
Cooperations
Within the framework of the projects being solved, the department has concluded a cooperation agreement with:
National Institute of Heart and Vascular Diseases, Bratislava
Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava
There is informal cooperation with several other workplaces and working groups:
- Jorge Sanchez Arciniegas, Polytechnic University, Valencia, Spain
- Peter Tino, Birmingham University, UK
- Consortium for Electrocardiographic Imaging https://www.ecg-imaging.org/
The results of these collaborations include publications, the exchange of programs and measured experimental data, as well as joint medical verification of the proposed methods and measurement systems.