Multipole Representation for an Equivalent Cardiac Generator

Abstract

One facet of electrocardiography has traditionally dealt with the relationship between body surface potentials and an equivalent generator that could have produced them. A key problem facing investigators today is whether a single fixed-location dipole is a suitable equivalent generator. The equivalent cardiac generator developed here provides a means for resolving this question. It consists of a collection of multipoles which, if placed at a point in a homogeneous isotropic conductor shaped like the human body, will give rise to the same potential distribution on the surface as that observed on the body itself. The multipole components can be evaluated by performing appropriate integrations of the potential over the body surface.