Title :
The magnetic field inside special conducting geometries due to internal current
Author :
Heller, Leon ; Ranken, Douglas ; Best, Elaine
Author_Institution :
Biophys. Group, Los Alamos Nat. Lab., NM, USA
Abstract :
In view of recent attempts to directly and noninvasively detect the neuromagnetic field, we derive an analytic formula for the magnetic field inside a homogeneous conducting sphere due to a point current dipole. It has a similar structure to a well-known formula for the field outside any spherically symmetric conductivity profile. For a radial dipole, the field on the inside has a very simple expression. A symmetry argument is given as to why the field of a radial dipole vanishes outside a spherical conductor. Illustrative plots of the magnetic field are presented for a radial and a tangential dipole; the slope of the tangential component of the magnetic field is discontinuous at the surface of the sphere. A spherical conductor having three concentric regions is discussed; and we also derive an analytic formula for the magnetic field inside a homogeneous infinite half space.
Keywords :
biomedical NMR; magnetoencephalography; neurophysiology; homogeneous conducting sphere; homogeneous infinite half space; internal current; neuromagnetic field; point current dipole; radial dipole; special conducting geometries; tangential dipole; Biophysics; Conductivity; Conductors; Electric potential; Geometry; Magnetic analysis; Magnetic field measurement; Magnetic fields; Magnetic heads; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Brain; Brain Mapping; Computer Simulation; Electric Conductivity; Electroencephalography; Electromagnetic Fields; Head; Magnetoencephalography; Models, Neurological; Radiometry;
Journal_Title :
Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TBME.2004.827554