MagnetoHemoDynamics in the aorta and electrocardiograms

Area of Science:

• Multiphysics simulation
• Computational cardiology
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) utilizes strong magnetic fields.
• The T-wave of the electrocardiogram (ECG) can be amplified in these fields.
• This T-wave amplification may interfere with ECG-gated imaging, impacting diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model and simulate the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect causing T-wave enlargement in the aorta during MRI.
• To investigate the impact of varying magnetic field intensities on ECG signals.
• To enhance the reliability of ECG-gated MRI by understanding and predicting these perturbations.

Main Methods:

• Development of a three-compartment computational model coupling inductionless MHD equations (aorta), bi-domain equations (heart), and electrical diffusion (body).
• Finite element method (FEM) employed for solving the coupled equations on a realistic anatomical model.
• Simulation of ECGs across a range of magnetic field strengths (0-20 Tesla) to validate the model.

Main Results:

• Successful reproduction of the experimentally observed T-wave enlargement in the presence of strong magnetic fields.
• Quantification of the MHD effect on ECG signals under varying magnetic field intensities.
• Validation of numerical solutions and modeling assumptions through benchmark tests.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a validated computational framework for understanding MHD effects on cardiac electrophysiology in MRI.
• The findings contribute to mitigating ECG signal artifacts in high-field MRI environments.
• This research can inform the development of more robust ECG-gated imaging techniques.