抄録
Magnetocardiography (MCG) is a noninvasive method to record weak magnetic fields generated around the heart using a non-contact sensor with high sensitivity. Clinical applications of MCG include evaluation of myocardial depolarizing/repolarizing processes, myocardial ischemia and pathophysiological diagnosis of arrhythmias. It is notable that MCG has also been applied to prenatal diagnosis of fetal cardiac diseases as extremely weak signals from a fetal heart can be detected using a SQUID system on the maternal abdomen without contact electrodes. For diagnosis of myocardial ischemia, MCG shows some advantages over conventional diagnostic modalities. MCG is superior in detecting tangential & vortex currents of myocardium to electrocardiography, making it possible to diagnose coronary artery disease even at rest with high sensitivity and specificity. In this paper, current status and future direction of clinical applications of MCG and limitations of the technology will be discussed.
