On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis
Since its inception, electrocardiography has been based on the simplifying hypothesis that cardinal limb leads form an equilateral triangle of which, at the center/centroid, the electrical equivalent of the cardiac activity rotates during the cardiac cycle. Therefore, it is thought that the three li...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-07-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/7/2353 |
| _version_ | 1817990374329679872 |
|---|---|
| author | Gaetano D. Gargiulo Paolo Bifulco Mario Cesarelli Alistair L. McEwan Hossein Moeinzadeh Aiden O’Loughlin Ibrahim M. Shugman Jonathan C. Tapson Aravinda Thiagalingam |
| author_facet | Gaetano D. Gargiulo Paolo Bifulco Mario Cesarelli Alistair L. McEwan Hossein Moeinzadeh Aiden O’Loughlin Ibrahim M. Shugman Jonathan C. Tapson Aravinda Thiagalingam |
| author_sort | Gaetano D. Gargiulo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since its inception, electrocardiography has been based on the simplifying hypothesis that cardinal limb leads form an equilateral triangle of which, at the center/centroid, the electrical equivalent of the cardiac activity rotates during the cardiac cycle. Therefore, it is thought that the three limbs (right arm, left arm, and left leg) which enclose the heart into a circuit, where each branch directly implies current circulation through the heart, can be averaged together to form a stationary reference (central terminal) for precordials/chest-leads. Our hypothesis is that cardinal limbs do not form a triangle for the majority of the duration of the cardiac cycle. As a corollary, the central point may not lie in the plane identified by the limb leads. Using a simple and efficient algorithm, we demonstrate that the portion of the cardiac cycle where the three limb leads form a triangle is, on average less, than 50%. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:59:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ac7714a917c4b38bcd3c2d1a1732bbb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:59:00Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ac7714a917c4b38bcd3c2d1a1732bbb2022-12-22T02:21:29ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202018-07-01187235310.3390/s18072353s18072353On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole HypothesisGaetano D. Gargiulo0Paolo Bifulco1Mario Cesarelli2Alistair L. McEwan3Hossein Moeinzadeh4Aiden O’Loughlin5Ibrahim M. Shugman6Jonathan C. Tapson7Aravinda Thiagalingam8The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Milperra, NSW 2214, AustraliaDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (DIETI), “Federico II” The University of Naples, 80100 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (DIETI), “Federico II” The University of Naples, 80100 Naples, ItalySchool of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaThe MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Milperra, NSW 2214, AustraliaSchool of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2650, AustraliaCardiology Department, Campbelltown Hospital, Campbelltown, NSW 2650, AustraliaThe MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Milperra, NSW 2214, AustraliaSchool of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaSince its inception, electrocardiography has been based on the simplifying hypothesis that cardinal limb leads form an equilateral triangle of which, at the center/centroid, the electrical equivalent of the cardiac activity rotates during the cardiac cycle. Therefore, it is thought that the three limbs (right arm, left arm, and left leg) which enclose the heart into a circuit, where each branch directly implies current circulation through the heart, can be averaged together to form a stationary reference (central terminal) for precordials/chest-leads. Our hypothesis is that cardinal limbs do not form a triangle for the majority of the duration of the cardiac cycle. As a corollary, the central point may not lie in the plane identified by the limb leads. Using a simple and efficient algorithm, we demonstrate that the portion of the cardiac cycle where the three limb leads form a triangle is, on average less, than 50%.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/7/2353basic cardiology scienceECGWilson Central TerminalEinthoven triangle |
| spellingShingle | Gaetano D. Gargiulo Paolo Bifulco Mario Cesarelli Alistair L. McEwan Hossein Moeinzadeh Aiden O’Loughlin Ibrahim M. Shugman Jonathan C. Tapson Aravinda Thiagalingam On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis Sensors basic cardiology science ECG Wilson Central Terminal Einthoven triangle |
| title | On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis |
| title_full | On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis |
| title_fullStr | On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis |
| title_short | On the Einthoven Triangle: A Critical Analysis of the Single Rotating Dipole Hypothesis |
| title_sort | on the einthoven triangle a critical analysis of the single rotating dipole hypothesis |
| topic | basic cardiology science ECG Wilson Central Terminal Einthoven triangle |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/7/2353 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gaetanodgargiulo ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT paolobifulco ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT mariocesarelli ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT alistairlmcewan ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT hosseinmoeinzadeh ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT aidenoloughlin ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT ibrahimmshugman ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT jonathanctapson ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis AT aravindathiagalingam ontheeinthoventriangleacriticalanalysisofthesinglerotatingdipolehypothesis |