Reconstruction of the 12-lead ECG using a novel MR-compatible ECG sensor network

Purpose: Current electrocardiography (ECG) devices in MRI use non-conventional electrode placement, have a narrow bandwidth, and suffer from signal distortions including magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects and gradient-induced artifacts. In this work a system is proposed to obtain a high-quality 12-lead ECG.

Methods: A network of N electrically independent MR-compatible ECG sensors was developed (N = 4 in this study). Each sensor uses a safe technology - short cables, preamplification/digitization close to the patient, and optical transmission - and provides three bipolar voltage leads. A matrix combination is applied to reconstruct a 12-lead ECG from the raw network signals. A subject-specific calibration is performed to identify the matrix coefficients, maximizing the similarity with a true 12-lead ECG, acquired with a conventional 12-lead device outside the scan room. The sensor network was subjected to radiofrequency heating phantom tests at 3T. It was then tested in four subjects, both at 1.5T and 3T.

Results: Radiofrequency heating at 3T was within the MR-compatibility standards. The reconstructed 12-lead ECG showed minimal MHD artifacts and its morphology compared well with that of the true 12-lead ECG, as measured by correlation coefficients above 93% (respectively, 84%) for the QRS complex shape during steady-state free precession (SSFP) imaging at 1.5T (respectively, 3T).

Conclusion: High-quality 12-lead ECG can be reconstructed by the proposed sensor network at 1.5T and 3T with reduced MHD artifacts compared to previous systems. The system might help improve patient monitoring and triggering and might also be of interest for interventional MRI and advanced cardiac MR applications.