Effects of tissue conductivity variations on the cardiac magnetic fields simulated with a realistic heart-torso model

Cardiac magnetic fields with varying tissue conductivities are simulated. A high-resolution finite-element torso model composed of 19 tissue types and with a voxel resolution of 1.5mmx1.5mmx3mm is used. It has a detailed description of tissue geometries and therefore is well suited for analysing the effects of tissue conductivities on the cardiac magnetic fields. The computed results show the greatest sensitivity of the magnetic fields to the changes in the conductivity of blood and myocardium, and less significant sensitivity to the conductivity of the lungs, muscle, fat and other tissues. These results are relevant to future modelling of magnetocardiograms and solving the inverse problem. They also emphasize the importance of careful modelling of the blood and heart regions, and suggest that less attention needs to be directed to bone or fat tissue. (author)