A comparative model of two mechanisms from which a magnetic field arises in the heart

Abstract

There are two different mechanisms from which a magnetic field can arise in the heart. The first mechanism has the source of the magnetic field as a current dipole oriented perpendicular to the action potential wave front with the “return” currents flowing in an adjacent volume conductor. The second mechanism is one with no adjacent volume conductor and has a magnetic field that arises due to the anisotropy of the tissue. We see that the two mechanisms produce magnetic fields of similar magnitudes and similar falloff rates as distance from the tissue increases, indicating that both mechanisms are important.