ABSTRACT
Optical mapping of electrical activity in the heart employing imaging techniques based on voltage-sensitive dyes has become an increasingly common research tool in basic cardiac electrophysiology. This was prompted by the failure of conventionally used intra-or extracellular recordings to provide high-resolution spatiotemporal maps of electrical activity, especially during application of electric stimuli. Despite a century of evolution, conventional techniques have failed to work in at least two key areas of research: in the study of the role of spatiotemporal organization of repolarization in arrhythmogenesis and in the study of the effects of external electric shocks on cellular electrical activity.
