This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by COHEN, D. Articles by CHANDLER, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by COHEN, D. Articles by CHANDLER, L.

(Circulation. 1969;39:395.)
© 1969 American Heart Association, Inc.

---

Measurements and a Simplified Interpretation of Magnetocardiograms from Humans

DAVID COHEN PH.D.¹ LOUIS CHANDLER PH.D.¹

¹ From the Physics Department, University of Illinois, at Chicago Circle, Chicago, Illinois.

To understand and assess the magnetocardiograph, the magnetic field produced by electrical heart activity was mapped around the torsos of one abnormal and six normal heart subjects, at different times during QRS. The measurements are here presented in the form of instantaneous distributions of vector segments 6 cm from the skin, anteriorly. An electrical model is presented which explains the first-order features of these distributions. This model is a simple, rotating bipole heart source of changing strength which produces the same ion currents as measured with surface electrocardiograms and vectorcardiograms; these currents produce a time-changing magnetic field extending outside the torso. Further analysis of second-order details of the distributions can reveal information not obtainable with various forms of surface electrocardiography.

Key Words: Magnetic field • B-vector • Ion currents • Rotating bipole

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Cohen, J. C. Norman, F. Molokhia, and W. Hood Jr. Magnetocardiography of Direct Currents: S-T Segment and Baseline Shifts during Experimental Myocardial Infarction Science, June 25, 1971; 172(3990): 1329 - 1333. [Abstract] [PDF]