Researchers from George Washington University have now created a new imaging system that brings these two pieces of information together. Their study, published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, provides one of the clearest views yet of how scar tissue affects the heartbeat. After a heart attack, healthy muscle is replaced by scar tissue that cannot carry these signals normally. Hyperspectral imaging identifies different tissues by studying how they reflect light, while optical mapping follows electrical signals as they spread across the heart muscle. This made it possible to separate healthy tissue, scar tissue, and the important border zone where many electrical problems begin.