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Quantifying QA Intervals in Rats During Orthostatic Tilting
Location: 16
Mentor: Dr. Patrick Ganzer
This project aims to analyze QA intervals (QAI) from rat tilt test data to understand how cardiac performance during orthostatic stress is affected by spinal cord injury (SCI). The QAI, defined as the time from the Q wave in the electrocardiogram (ECG) to the A-point on the blood pressure waveform, serves as a surrogate marker for cardiac contractility. RA intervals (RAI), defined as the time from the R wave in the ECG to the A-point, were also extracted due to their more accurate and reliable detection. In this study, RAI serve as an implicit measurement to support the analysis of QAI. The study focuses on signal processing and analysis of recorded data to detect artifacts, ensure data integrity, and identify Q, R, and A points in ECG and blood pressure signals. Batch processing is implemented to extract QA and RA intervals across multiple datasets, with results exported for further analysis. The findings are visualized through figures and presented in a research poster, aiming to provide insights into the cardiovascular responses to postural changes in SCI and control rats. This work integrates advanced signal processing and data analysis techniques to support preclinical research on autonomic cardiovascular regulation following SCI.
