The New Invention of 80-leads ECG Shows Good Diagnosis of Myocardial Infaction compares with 12-leads ECG (ecg electrocardiogram ; cardiac ecg)

In this ECG-constructed map of the torso, a red region above the heart is normal.

The world of medicine is changing and upgrading together with new inventions in Science and Technology. The following blog article is summarized based on the true news reported in Medical news journal. All the doctors should read this and don't miss it!

As we had learnt in our medical school "the 12-leads ECG" by hard, is now no longer practical and full of errors. This 12 leads ECG only contains 6 cheast leads and 3 standard leads and 3 limbs leads....altogether are 12 leads only. Unfortunately, with this 12 leads only ECG, the doctors miss up many hidden diagnosis of Myocardial Infactions, Anginal Pectoris and so on. The reason is this 12 leads ECG didn't cover completely the chest region to make a complete-full image of our human heart! Thus, with this 12 leads ECG, the doctors alway miss up the emergency pathology of posterior wall of heart, right ventricular wall of the heart, upper lateral wall of the heart and inferior wall of the heart.

The 80-lead electrocardiogram is one of the developments that adds a degree of safety to in-the-field triage. The device generates a three-dimensional color-coded image of heart function and detects most of the acute ST elevation MIs that are missed by a standard 12-lead ECG, Dr. Ornato said at the conference, also sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association.

In a study conducted by Dr. Ornato and his associates, the PRIME-ECG body map system, which was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, was 100% sensitive for detecting MIs defined by elevated creatinine kinase MB, and 93% sensitive for detecting MIs as defined by elevated troponin levels. Specificity was comparable for the 12-lead and the 80-lead systems

Among 647 adults with chest pain assessed by 12- and 80-lead ECG systems, the 80-lead system identified 28 MIs missed by the 12-lead system: 4 septal, 21 posterior, and 3 inferior MIs. The incidence of extensive right ventricular involvement diagnosable only with the 80-lead system was 22%.

At least 20,000-40,000 hard-to-diagnose MIs (1%-5% of all heart attacks) are missed in the emergency department each year; about 20% of them are fatal. The 80-lead system picks up these hard-to-see MIs in the lateral and posterior walls better than a 12-lead system, Dr. Ornato said.

“We're looking at the same ECG signals, but we have 80 of them instead of just 12, and we have them distributed over the entire chest, including the right side and the back. Computer technology has progressed now to the point where it can process data from 80 leads simultaneously. That wasn't possible 5 years ago.”

The PRIME body map ECG system, marketed in the United States by Meridian Medical Technologies of Columbia, Md., generates color-coded images as either a flat body map showing “unfolded” views of the front and back of the torso, or a three-dimensional rotating torso. Conventional analog tracings are also available for either 80-lead or 12-lead readings.
The images display positive ST segment deviations in red, negative ST segment deviations in blue, and neutral values in green.

Easily recognizable patterns are associated with each kind of heart attack. For instance, a lateral wall MI shows up as a bright red area under the left arm. A posterior wall MI shows up over the back and a right ventricular MI shows up under the right arm and over the right chest.

Hopefully, this new technology will start operating soon in every corner of the world!