Case 1: Catheterization Laboratory - During a cardiac catheterization, several independent pieces of data acquisition equipment may be brought together for the exam. An electrocardiographic subsystem records surface ECG waveforms; an X-ray angiographic subsystem records motion images; a hemodynamic subsystem records intracardiac pressures from a sensor on the catheter. These subsystems send their acquired data by network to a repository. These data are assembled at an analytic workstation by retrieving from the repository. For a left ventriculographic procedure, the ECG is used by the physician to determine the time of maximum and minimum ventricular fill, and when coordinated with the angiographic images, an accurate estimate of the ejection fraction can be calculated. For a valvuloplasty procedure, the hemodynamic waveforms are used to calculate the pre-intervention and post-intervention pressure gradients.

Case 2: Electrophysiology Laboratory - An electrophysiological exam will capture waveforms from multiple sensors on a catheter; the placement of the catheter in the heart is captured on an angiographic image. At an analytic workstation, the exact location of the sensors can thus be aligned with a model of the heart, and the relative timing of the arrival of the electrophysiological waves at different cardiac locations can be mapped.

Case 3: Stress Exam - A stress exam may involve the acquisition of both ECG waveforms and echocardiographic ultrasound images from portable equipment at different stages of the test. The waveforms and the echocardiograms are output on an interchange disk, which is then input and read at a review station. The physician analyzes both types of data to make a diagnosis of cardiac health.