Ehud Jeruham Schmidt1, Gari Clifford2, Michael Jerosch-Herald1, Raymond Y. Kwong3, Laurence Epstein3, Daniel Kacher1, Charles L. Dumoulin4, Ferenc Jolesz1
1Radiology, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; 2Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; 3Cardiology, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; 4Radiology, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA
A 12-lead high-fidelity MRI-compatible ECG system is used to acquire ECG data outside the magnet, and at iso-center both head-first and feet-first. The three positions are compared to produce an ECG signal with substantial reduction of the Magneto-Hydrodynamic effect in one implementation, and to provide the net MHD effect in another implementation. Since the MHD effect is associated with flow in the aortic arch, it provides a non-invasive estimate of cardiac output, and can also be used to separate between premature and sinus rhythm beats.