Influence of magnetically-induced E-fields on cardiac electric activity during MRI: A modeling study

Investigating cardiac stimulation limits of MRI gradient coils using electromagnetic and electrophysiological simulations in human and canine body models

Purpose:

Cardiac stimulation (CS) limits to gradient coil switching speed are difficult to measure in humans; instead, current regulatory guidelines (IEC 60601–2-33) are based on animal experiments and electric field–to-dB/dt conversion factors computed for a simple, homogeneous body model. We propose improvement to this methodology by using more detailed CS modeling based on realistic body models and electrophysiological models of excitable cardiac fibers.

Methods:

We compute electric fields induced by a solenoid, coplanar loops, and a commercial gradient coil in two human body models and a canine model. The canine simulations mimic previously published experiments. We generate realistic fiber topologies for the cardiac Purkinje and ventricular muscle fiber networks using rule-based algorithms, and evaluate CS thresholds using validated electrodynamic models of these fibers.

Results:

We were able to reproduce the average measured canine CS thresholds within 5%. In all simulations, the Purkinje fibers were stimulated before the ventricular fibers, and therefore set the effective CS threshold. For the investigated gradient coil, simulated CS thresholds for the x-, y-, and z-axis were at least one order of magnitude greater than the International Electrotechnical Commission limit.

Conclusion:

We demonstrate an approach to simulate gradient-induced CS using a combination of electromagnetic and electrophysiological modeling. Pending additional validation, these simulations could guide the assessment of CS limits to MRI gradient coil switching speed. Such an approach may lead to less conservative, but still safe, operation limits, enabling the use of the maximum gradient amplitude versus slew rate parameter space of recent, powerful gradient systems.

Heart rate variability as a biomarker in health and affective disorders: A perspective on neuroimaging studies

The dynamic embodiment of psychological processes is evident in the association of health outcomes, behavioural traits and psychological functioning with Heart Rate Variability (HRV). The dominant high-frequency component of HRV is an index of the central neural control of heart rhythm, mediated via the parasympathetic vagus nerve. HRV provides a potential objective measure of action policies for the adaptive and predictive allostatic regulation of homeostasis within the cardiovascular system. In its support, a network of brain regions (referred to as the 'central autonomic network') maps internal state, and controls autonomic responses. This network includes regions of prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, amygdala, periaqueductal grey, pons and medulla. Human neuroimaging studies of neural activation and functional connectivity broadly endorse this architecture, and its link with cardiac regulation at rest and dysregulation in clinical states that include affective disorders. In this review, we appraise neuroimaging research and related evidence for HRV as an informative marker of autonomic integration with affect and cognition, taking a perspective on function and organisation. We consider evidence for the utility of HRV as a metric to inform targeted interventions to improve autonomic and affective dysregulation, and suggest research questions for further investigation.

Acquisition of electrocardiogram signals during magnetic resonance imaging

The recording of the electrocardiogram (ECG) during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition is of great interest and importance. Firstly, MRI acquisition is a relatively slow process, which therefore complicates the imaging of moving organs. Cardiac MRI requires the development of strategies for acquiring high quality images, which is mainly achieved by synchronising the image acquisition with a specific time during the cardiac cycle. The ECG is used to monitor the heart's activity, and the detection of the largest and steepest peak in the cardiac cycle (the QRS complex) triggers the acquisition of slices of the k-space. Secondly, patients undergoing an MRI examination need to be monitored for safety during the procedure, and therefore ECG signals are used to track their cardiovascular state in real time. However, there are significant barriers to the accurate observation and processing of the ECG during MRI acquisition. In particular, the flow of charged blood particles through the large applied magnetic field leads to an extra current source, known as the magnetohdrodymanic (MHD) effect. This review article discusses these barriers and state-of-the-art solutions. An overview of the relevant technology including hardware and applications are described. The development of new software tools for the processing of the ECG signals acquired during MRI is also detailed. These developments include the design of specific QRS detection algorithms, which are able to distinguish QRS complexes from the MHD effect but also the gradient artefacts. Different techniques for the suppression of the gradient artefacts are also presented as well as the most challenging problem to-date-the problem of separating the MHD effect from the ECG. The article concludes by summarising the advantages of using ECG signals during MRI, but also presents the current limitations of modern analysis techniques in this domain. The most promising avenues of research are also discussed and suggestions for new methodological analyses for the development of this field are given.

A simple analytical expression for the gradient induced potential on active implants during MRI

During magnetic resonance imaging, there is an interaction between the time-varying magnetic fields and the active implantable medical devices (AIMD). In this study, in order to express the nature of this interaction, simplified analytical expressions for the electric fields induced by time-varying magnetic fields are derived inside a homogeneous cylindrical volume. With these analytical expressions, the gradient induced potential on the electrodes of the AIMD can be approximately calculated if the position of the lead inside the body is known. By utilizing the fact that gradient coils produce linear magnetic field in a volume of interest, the simplified closed form electric field expressions are defined. Using these simplified expressions, the induced potential on an implant electrode has been computed approximately for various lead positions on a cylindrical phantom and verified by comparing with the measured potentials for these sample conditions. In addition, the validity of the method was tested with isolated frog leg stimulation experiments. As a result, these simplified expressions may help in assessing the gradient-induced stimulation risk to the patients with implants.

Measurement of electric fields due to time-varying magnetic field gradients using dipole probes

The operation of dipole probes in measuring electric fields in conductive media exposed to temporally varying magnetic fields is discussed. The potential measured by the probe can be thought of as originating from two contributions to the electric field, namely the gradient of the scalar electric potential and the temporal derivative of the magnetic vector potential. Using this analysis, it is shown that the exact form of the wire paths employed when using electric field probes to measure the effects of temporally varying magnetic fields is very important and this prediction is verified via simple experiments carried out using different probe geometries in a cylindrical sample exposed to a temporally varying, uniform magnetic field. Extending this work, a dipole probe has been used to measure the electric field induced in a cylindrical sample by gradient coils as used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Analytic solutions for the electric field in an infinite cylinder are verified by comparison with experimental measurements. Deviations from the analytic solutions of the electric field for the x-gradient coil due to the finite length of the sample cylinder are also demonstrated.

Magnetic-field-induced vertigo: a theoretical and experimental investigation

Vertigo-like sensations or apparent perception of movement are reported by some subjects and operators in and around high field whole body magnetic resonance body scanners. Induced currents (which modulate the firing rate of the vestibular hair cell), magneto-hydrodynamics (MDH), and tissue magnetic susceptibility differences have all been proposed as possible mechanisms for this effect. In this article, we examine the theory underlying each of these mechanisms and explore resulting predictions. Experimental evidence is summarised in the following findings: 30% of subjects display a postural sway response at a field-gradient product of 1 T(2)m(-1); a determining factor for experience of vertigo is the total unipolar integrated field change over a period greater than 1 s; the perception of dizziness is not necessarily related to a high value of the rate of change of magnetic field; eight of ten subjects reported sensations ranging from mild to severe when exposed to a magnetic field change of the order of 4.7 T in 1.9 s; no subjects reported any response when exposed to 50 ms pulses of dB/dt of 2 Ts(-1) amplitude. The experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that magnetic-field related vertigo results from both magnetic susceptibility differences between vestibular organs and surrounding fluid, and induced currents acting on the vestibular hair cells. Both mechanisms are consistent with theoretical predictions.

An equivalent distributed magnetic current based FDTD method for the calculation of E-fields induced by gradient coils in MRI

This paper evaluates a low-frequency FDTD method applied to the problem of induced E-fields/eddy currents in the human body resulting from the pulsed magnetic field gradients in MRI. In this algorithm, a distributed equivalent magnetic current (DEMC) is proposed as the electromagnetic source and is obtained by quasistatic calculation of the empty coil's vector potential or measurements therein. This technique circumvents the discretizing of complicated gradient coil geometries into a mesh of Yee cells, and thereby enables any type of gradient coil modeling or other complex low frequency sources. The proposed method has been verified against an example with an analytical solution. Results are presented showing the spatial distribution of gradient-induced electric fields in a multilayered spherical phantom model and a complete body model.

Consideration of magnetically-induced and conservative electric fields within a loaded gradient coil

We present a method to calculate the electric (E)-fields within and surrounding a human body in a gradient coil, including E-fields induced by the changing magnetic fields and "conservative" E-fields originating with the scalar electrical potential in the coil windings. In agreement with previous numerical calculations, it is shown that magnetically-induced E-fields within the human body show no real concentration near the surface of the body, where nerve stimulation most often occurs. Both the magnetically-induced and conservative E-fields are shown to be considerably stronger just outside the human body than inside it, and under some circumstances the conservative E-fields just outside the body can be much larger than the magnetically-induced E-fields there. The order of gradient winding and the presence of conductive RF shield can greatly affect the conservative E-field distribution in these cases. Though the E-fields against the outer surface of the body are not commonly considered, understanding gradient E-fields may be important for reasons other than peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), such as potential interaction with electrical equipment.

Suppression of MR gradient artefacts on electrophysiological signals based on an adaptive real-time filter with LMS coefficient updates

Electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition is still a challenge as gradient artefacts superimposed on the electrophysiological signal can only be partially removed. The signal shape of theses artefacts can be similar to the QRS-complex, causing possible misinterpretation during patient monitoring and false triggering/gating of the MRI. For their real-time suppression, an adaptive filter is proposed. The adaptive filter is based on the noise-canceller configuration with LMS coefficient updates. The references of the noise canceller are the three gradient signals that are acquired simultaneously with the noisy ECG. Tests were done on patients, on volunteers and using an MR-safe ECG simulator. The noise canceller's performance was measured offline, simulating real-time processing by point-by-point operations. To create worst-case scenarios, clinical sequences with strong- and fast-switching gradients have been chosen. The noise-cancelling filter reduces the gradient artefacts' peak amplitudes by 80-99% after adaptation, without changing the desired ECG signal shape. The estimated reduction of total average power of the MR gradient artefacts is 62-98%. The proposed filter is capable of reducing artefacts due to strong- and fast-switching gradients in real-time applications and worst-case situations. The quality of the ECG is sufficiently high that a standard one-lead QRS-detector can be used for gating/triggering the MRI. For permanent patient monitoring, further improvements are needed.

A distributed equivalent magnetic current based FDTD method for the calculation of E-fields induced by gradient coils

This paper evaluates a new, low-frequency finite-difference time-domain method applied to the problem of induced E-fields/eddy currents in the human body resulting from the pulsed magnetic field gradients in MRI. In this algorithm, a distributed equivalent magnetic current is proposed as the electromagnetic source and is obtained by quasistatic calculation of the empty coil's vector potential or measurements therein. This technique circumvents the discretization of complicated gradient coil geometries into a mesh of Yee cells, and thereby enables any type of gradient coil modelling or other complex low frequency sources. The proposed method has been verified against an example with an analytical solution. Results are presented showing the spatial distribution of gradient-induced electric fields in a multi-layered spherical phantom model and a complete body model.