Patent ID: 7957787
Filing Date: 2011-06-07
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method of examining cardiac electromagnetic activity of a heart of a subject for diagnosing cardiac functions, the method comprising: performing a non-contact magnetic measurement over a thorax region of the subject at a plurality of measurement positions to obtain a plurality of sets of spatially distributed, time-varying magnetic field signals of the heart of the subject, wherein each set of the spatially distributed, time-varying magnetic field signals at each of the measurement positions exhibits features of at least a wave; offsetting each set of the time-varying magnetic field signals; identifying a time (t plotting a temporal evolution of the local maximum intensity of the offset time-varying magnetic field signals during a time interval of the wave to obtain a propagation behavior of the wave, wherein the temporal evolution of the local maximum intensity of the offset time-varying magnetic field signals during the time interval of the wave is characterized by a time-dependent area ratio of a positive wave area to a negative wave area.