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Abstract

Apparatus and methods adapted for in vivo chronic measurement of cardiac monophasic action potentials (MAPs). The methods include, inter alia, providing a sensing electrode in contact with cardiac tissue and a reference electrode in proximity to the sensing electrode, intermittently inducing a transient localized depolarization or transient injury-like electrical currents in at least some of the cells of the cardiac tissue underlying or adjacent to the sensing electrode and measuring the potential difference between the sensing electrode and the reference electrode during at least part of the duration of the depolarization or injury-like currents. Other methods for inducing depolarization or injury-like currents in the tissue include, inter alia, localized membrane electroporation, localized electrostatic production of depolarization using voltage clamp to produce a signal representative of MAPs, localized tissue heating, localized application of ultrasound and localized irradiation with light. The apparatus and methods may also be applied for non-chronic measurement of cardiac monophasic action potentials and for measurement of monophasic action potentials from other non-cardiac excitable tissues.

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