Blood flow simulation and magnetohydrodynamics effects in MRI

International audienceIn order to improve the quality of the images provided by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), the magnetic field used in MRI is getting larger and larger: from 3T nowadays, it might increase in the future up to 10T in clinical scanners. The impact of such a large magnetic field on health is still in debate. We focus in this study on the perturbations induced by the magnetic field on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Indeed, the blood flow (containing charged particles) immersed in the magnetic field induces an electric field that may alter the electric potential measured during ECG. In particular, the induced electric field may increase the T-wave in the ECG. We investigate this phenomenon and try to simulate such an effect