Theoretical analysis of magnetic field interactions with aortic blood flow

Abstract

The flow of blood in the presence of a magnetic field gives rise to induced voltages in the major arteries of the central circulatory system Under certain simplifying conditions, such as the assumption that the length of major arteries (e.g., the aorta) is infinite and that the vessel walls are not electrically conductive, the distribution of induced voltages and currents within these blood vessels can be calculated with reasonable precision. However, the propagation of magnetically induced voltages and currents from the aorta into neighboring tissue structures such as the sinuatrial node of the heart has not been previously determined by any experimental or theoretical technique. In the analysis presented in this paper, a solution of the complete Navier-Stokes equation was obtained by the finite element technique for blood flow through the ascending and descending aortic vessels in the presence of a uniform static magnetic field. Spatial distributions of the magnetically induced voltage and current were obtained for the aortic vessel and surrounding tissues under the assumption that the wall of the aorta is electrically conductive. Results are presented for the calculated values of magnetically induced voltages and current densities in the aorta and surrounding tissue structures, including the sinuatrial node, and for their field-strength dependence. In addition, an analysis is presented of magnetohydrodynamic interactions that lead to a small reduction of blood volume flow at high field levels above approximately 10 tesla (T). Quantitative results are presented on the offsetting effects of oppositely directed blood flows in the ascending and descending aortic segments, and a quantitative estimate is made of the effects of assuming an infinite vs. a finite length of the aortic vessel in calculating the magnetically induced voltage and current density distribution in tissue. ©1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.