Two-dimensional propagation of magnetocardiac T wave signals for characterizing myocardial ischemia

Instead of detecting electrical signals for diagnosing cardiac abnormalities, a promising alternative is to detect the magnetic signals generated from cardiac electrical currents. The system utilizing 64 low-transition-temperature superconducting quantum interference devices was tested to detect the time-dependent magnetocardiac signals that are spatially distributed over the heart. To achieve efficient acquisition and analysis, we propose a method to detect two-dimensionally, the T wave propagation of electromagnetic signals of beating hearts. In addition to characterizing the propagating behaviors, the differences between normal hearts and those with coronary artery disease were investigated.