Magnetocardiography on an isolated animal heart with a room-temperature optically pumped magnetometer

Abstract

© 2018, The Author(s). Optically pumped magnetometers are becoming a promising alternative to cryogenically-cooled superconducting magnetometers for detecting and imaging biomagnetic fields. Magnetic field detection is a completely non-invasive method, which allows one to study the function of excitable human organs with a sensor placed outside the human body. For instance, magnetometers can be used to detect brain activity or to study the activity of the heart. We have developed a highly sensitive miniature optically pumped magnetometer based on cesium atomic vapor kept in a paraffin-coated glass container. The magnetometer is optimized for detection of biological signals and has high temporal and spatial resolution. It is operated at room- or human body temperature and can be placed in contact with or at a mm-distance from a biological object. With this magnetometer, we detected the heartbeat of an isolated guinea-pig heart, which is an animal widely used in biomedical studies. In our recordings of the magnetocardiogram, we can detect the P-wave, QRS-complex and T-wave associated with the cardiac cycle in real time. We also demonstrate that our device is capable of measuring the cardiac electrographic intervals, such as the RR- and QT-interval, and detecting drug-induced prolongation of the QT-interval, which is important for medical diagnostics.

Citation

Jensen, K., Skarsfeldt, M. A., Stærkind, H., Arnbak, J., Balabas, M. V., Olesen, S. P., …Polzik, E. S. (2018). Magnetocardiography on an isolated animal heart with a room-temperature optically pumped magnetometer. Scientific Reports, 8, Article 16218. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34535-z

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 12, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Nov 22, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2018
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Print ISSN: 2045-2322
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Article Number: 16218
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34535-z
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1301636
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-34535-z