To noninvasively obtain anatomical information in individual cases, we superimposed magnetocardiograms (MCGs) on magnetic resonance images (MRs) and named the combined images "magneto-anatomical mappings". Methods: Thirty patients with arrhythmias were studied by using 64-channel MCGs and MRs. In seventeen of thirty cases, MCGs and MRs were done before radiofrequency catheter ablation. We measured the normal components of the cardiac magnetic fields and analyzed both the normal and the tangential components. In the early phase of a premature contraction or an accessory pathway, the cardiac magnetic source was deduced by using the Biot-Savart rules. MCGs were superimposed on three-dimensional MRs. In reentrant arrhythmias, MCGs (the tangential components) were superimposed on two-dimensional MRs. Results: Sixteen out of thirty patients had normal heart structure and fourteen patients had anatomical abnormalities of the heart. In a patient with a prior history of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, the combined images of MCGs and MRs showed that premature ventricular contractions originated from the border of a left ventricular aneurysm. Conclusion: The present study showed that magneto-anatomical mappings could be applied to diagnose malignant arrhythmias with anatomical substrates.
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