Estimation of heart parameters using skin potential measurements

A fundamental problem of vectorcardiography is the estimation of the state of the heart on the basis of skin potential measurements. A mathematical model relating ventricular dipoles to surface potentials is sketched. Then it is shown that the inverse problem—that of determining electrical heart parameters on the basis of skin potential measurements—may be viewed as a nonlinear multipoint boundary value problem. A feasible solution, employing quasilinearization and high-speed digital computers, is given.