Key result
Including a quadrupole in cardiac models improves lead correlation and QRS surface potential versus dipole alone.
Why the study?
The contribution of multipole components beyond the dipole to the human ECG surface potentials was not fully characterized.
Population
One human subject and a torso tank model
Comparison
Dipole source vs dipole-plus-quadrupole source fitting of ECG data
Design
Experimental study using a special multipole probe and least squares fitting
Authors
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Quadrupole terms may refine ECG forward models; leaves open any clinical diagnostic impact pending validation.
This experimental study demonstrates that a quadrupole component significantly contributes to the human electrocardiogram during the QRS complex, improving upon a simple dipole model.
Roy W. Schubert (1968) studied this question. Dipole-plus-quadrupole source model vs. Dipole source model was evaluated on Lead correlation coefficients and surface potential contribution. Inclusion of a quadrupole in the cardiac generator model improved lead correlation coefficients and contributed significantly to the surface potential during the QRS complex compared to a dipole alone.
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