The Sampling and Analysis of Lead Fields in Electrocardiographic Torso Models

Reciprocal energization of an electrocardiographic lead connection in a torso model produces an electrical field from which equivalent cardiac dipolar and multipolar transfer coefficients may be determined. This purpose can be fully served by sufficiently numerous experimental measurements of reciprocal field potential over a Gaussian sphere which is large enough to encompass the entire cardiac region. A systematic field-sampling procedure of appropriate design has resulted in the development of reliable numerical methods for the resolution of reciprocal potential functions into the desired transfer coefficients. The underlying principles as well as the data reduction procedure itself are directly applicable to the analysis of other kinds of Newtonian potential functions.