The Magnetic Field Produced by the Heart and Its Influence on MRI

Background. Action currents in the heart produce a magnetic field, which could provide a way to detect the propagation of electrical activity through cardiac tissue using magnetic resonance imaging. However, the magnetic field produced by current in the heart is small. The key question addressed in this study is are cardiac biomagnetic fields large enough to be detectable by MRI? Results. A spherical model is used to calculate the magnetic field inside the heart, which has a magnitude of about 14 nT. This field implies a phase shift in the MRI signal of about 0.2°. Conclusion. Phase shifts associated with cardiac action currents will be difficult to detect using current MRI technology but may be possible if motion artifacts and other physiological noise can be suppressed.

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