Anatomically realistic torso model for studying the relative decay of gastric electrical and magnetic fields.

Non-invasive assessment of the gastro-intestinal system has not obtained widespread clinical acceptance despite the fact that the first electrogastrograms were recorded almost a century ago. One technique that is gaining acceptance for non-invasively assessing the gastrointestinal system is the recording of cutaneous electrogastrograms. It has been proposed that measurement of the gastric magnetic field (magnetogastrogram) may produce more reliable signals in the form of a vector field and also allows the signals to be obtained with non-contact sensors. In this study, an anatomically realistic torso model of the gastrointestinal system is used to investigate the relative decay of electrical and magnetic fields resulting from gastric electrical activity. Typically the electrical fields are measured on the skin surface while the magnetic fields are recorded at locations close to, but not in contact with the skin surface. This is the first study which has used a temporal and multiple dipole source model to simulate resultant electrical and magnetic fields.