Research progress on the acquisition technology of magnetocardiography_Journal of Biomedical Engineering

Authors：

KANG Bochao ¹ ,  DONG Ming ¹ , CHANG Yi ¹ , WANG Jingyi ¹ , ZHAO Tairan ¹ , FAN Lihong ²

1. State Key Library of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, P. R. China;
2. The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, P. R. China;

Corresponding?author：

DONG Ming, Email: dongming@xjtu.edu.cn

Keywords：

Cardiovascular diseases; Magnetocardiography; Magnetic sensor; Magnetocardiography acquisition technology; Magnetic shielding

DOI：

10.7507/1001-5515.202504002

Video：

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For certain cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease and arrhythmia, electrocardiogram as a conventional cardiac function monitoring method has limitations such as insufficient resolution and unreliable accuracy in diagnosis. In contrast, magnetocardiography (MCG) offers several advantages, such as being unaffected by uneven human body conductivity and skin-electrode contact, and providing higher spatial resolution, which make it more effective than electrocardiogram for pathological characterization and lesion localization. The acquisition technology of MCG, which is a vital component of the overall MCG system, has predominantly utilized superconducting quantum interference device. In recent years innovative cases of MCG acquisition using atomic magnetometers and magneto-resistive sensors have also appeared in academia. In this paper, the MCG acquisition technologies based on three distinct magnetic sensors are reviewed. Firstly, the current research progress on each MCG acquisition technology is introduced. After that, the enhancement approaches of various technologies for improving cardiac magnetic signal acquisition and magnetic shielding conditions are discussed. Subsequently, differences between each technology are analyzed and the existing development difficulties and solutions of MCG technology are discussed. Finally, an outlook on the application prospect of MCG in the clinical field is provided, aiming to provide references for the continuous optimization of MCG technology and accelerate its adoption as a reliable diagnostic method for cardiovascular diseases.

Citation： KANG Bochao, DONG Ming, CHANG Yi, WANG Jingyi, ZHAO Tairan, FAN Lihong. Research progress on the acquisition technology of magnetocardiography. Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 2026, 43(2): 405-413. doi: 10.7507/1001-5515.202504002 Copy

1.	國家心血管病中心, 中國心血管健康與疾病報告編寫組. 中國心血管健康與疾病報告2024概要. 中國循環雜志, 2025, 40(6): 521-559.
2.	婁洋, 周鑫斌, 毛威. 心電成像技術臨床應用展望. 心電與循環, 2021, 40(6): 559-564.
3.	M?ntynen V, Konttila T, Stenroos M. Investigations of sensitivity and resolution of ECG and MCG in a realistically shaped thorax model. Phys Med Biol, 2014, 59(23): 7141-7158.
4.	Kwon H, Kim K, Lee Y, et al. Non-invasive magnetocardiography for the early diagnosis of coronary artery disease in patients presenting with acute chest pain. Circ J, 2010, 74(7): 1424-1430.
5.	Debora B, Tharusan T, Simon G, et al. Application of magnetocardiography to screen for inflammatory cardiomyopathy and monitor treatment response. J Am Heart Assoc, 2023, 12(4): e027619.
6.	Kentaro Y, Kuniomi O, Takeshi I, et al. Noninvasive detection of pulmonary venous reconnections by magnetocardiography after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. JACC Clin Electrophysiol, 2023, 10(2): 367-369.
7.	Wessel N, Kim J S, Joung B Y, et al. Magnetocardiography at rest predicts cardiac death in patients with acute chest pain. Front Cardiovasc Med, 2023, 10: 1258890.
8.	艾海明, 董哲, 葛靜茹, 等. 超導心磁信號測量技術及冠心病篩查. 中國醫學物理學雜志, 2024, 41(10): 1265-1272.
9.	Parimita P S, Sengottuvel S, Rajesh P, et al. Solving inverse problem in magnetocardiography by pattern search method. IETE J Res, 2023, 69(7): 4001-4011.
10.	董繼偉, 宋現濤. 一種心磁圖信號采集與分析軟件系統. 中國醫療設備, 2023, 38(11): 38-43.
11.	Inaba T, Nakazawa Y, Yoshida K, et al. Routine clinical heart examinations using SQUID magnetocardiography at University of Tsukuba Hospital. Supercond Sci Technol, 2017, 30(11): 114003.
12.	Kesavaraja C, Senthilnathan S, Patel R, et al. Enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of magnetocardiography by optimal channel selection for cardiac diagnosis. Biomed Phys Eng Express, 2024, 10(2): 025023.
13.	邸春霞, 華寧, 謝甲琦, 等. 高溫超導心磁圖儀在糖尿病患者冠脈介入治療中的應用. 中國醫療設備, 2014, 29(4): 6-9.
14.	鄭婷, 孫文娟, 賓峰, 等. 基于超導SQUID的全張量梯度計的研制. 低溫與超導, 2024, 52(9): 22-29.
15.	Xu Z, Zhang Z, Yang K, et al. Comprehensive compensation scheme for fetal magnetocardiography measurement. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond, 2024, 34(8): 1600904.
16.	Faezeh S, Mehdi F. Low noise active shield for SQUID-based magnetocardiography systems. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond, 2018, 28(4): 9000205.
17.	Mace E S, Pena M, Ahee J D, et al. Utility of rest magnetocardiography in patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain: A case series on the CardioFlux MCG. Am Heart J Plus, 2024, 45: 100441.
18.	Vargas E D, Ramirez A, Siegel R E, et al. A customized bed based stand alone array of optically pumped magnetometers for fetal magnetocardiography measurements. Sci Rep, 2025, 15(1): 7236.
19.	Mace E S, Peacock F W, Stopyra J, et al. Accelerated magnetocardiography in the evaluation of patients with suspected cardiac ischemia: The magneto trial. Am Heart J Plus, 2024, 40: 100372.
20.	Yang Y, Liu Z, Wang R, et al. Co-registration method of wearable magnetocardiography system and CT. Biomed Signal Process Control, 2025, 100(Pt A): 106914.
21.	Dawson R, O’Dwyer C, Mrozowski S M, et al. Portable single-beam cesium zero-field magnetometer for magnetocardiography. J Opt Microsyst, 2023, 3(4): 044501.
22.	Su S, Xu Z, He X, et al. Vector magnetocardiography using compact optically-pumped magnetometers. Heliyon, 2024, 10(7): e29092.
23.	Wang Y, Wang H, Yang Y, et al. Research on spatial resolution in cardiac source imaging for multiple measurement modes using a realistic multi-tissue human model. Measurement, 2025, 243: 116353.
24.	Lin S, Tang J, Yuan Z. High-sensitivity atomic magnetometer realized by weak-value-amplification effect. Appl Phys Lett, 2023, 123(19): 194001.
25.	Yuan Z, Liu Y, Xiang M, et al. Compact multi-channel optically pumped magnetometer for bio-magnetic field imaging. Opt Laser Technol, 2023, 164: 109534.
26.	Li J, Fang X, Li R, et al. A miniaturized spin-exchange relaxation-free atomic magnetometer based on uniform light field. Chin Phys B, 2023, 32(5): 435-440.
27.	Cook H, Bezsudnova Y, Koponen M L, et al. An optically pumped magnetic gradiometer for the detection of human biomagnetism. Quantum Sci Technol, 2024, 9(3): 035016.
28.	Xiao W, Sun C, Shen L, et al. A movable unshielded magnetocardiography system. Sci Adv, 2023, 9(13): eadg1746.
29.	Xie X, Zhou X, Zhao F, et al. Uniform bi-planar coil design considering coupling effect of finite thickness for SERF magnetometer array calibration inside magnetically shielded room. Measurement, 2025, 249: 117052.
30.	Iwata Z G, Nguyen T C, Tharratt K, et al. Bedside magnetocardiography with a scalar sensor array. Sensors, 2024, 24(16): 5402.
31.	Tardelli G P, Tan P, Janette S, et al. Ferrite shield to enhance the performance of optically pumped magnetometers for fetal magnetocardiography. J Clin Med, 2023, 12(9): 3078.
32.	Liang Z, Zhang Y, Long T, et al. Four-channel miniaturized SERF magnetometer with spatial inhomogeneous atomic polarization. Opt Laser Technol, 2025, 181(Pt C): 112013.
33.	Vimala S G, Subbulekshmi D. Comprehensive introspection of magnetoresistive sensors applied in biomedical diagnostics. Curr Med Imaging, 2023, 20: e250823220366.
34.	李旺. 基于磁柵結構的隧道磁阻微位移傳感技術研究. 太原: 中北大學, 2024.
35.	李銳. 基于磁電阻效應的角度檢測ASIC關鍵技術研究. 成都: 電子科技大學, 2024.
36.	Shirai Y, Hirao K, Shibuya T, et al. Magnetocardiography using a magnetoresistive sensor array. Int Heart J, 2019, 60(1): 50-54.
37.	陸知宏, 紀帥, 楊建中. Measurement of T wave in magnetocardiography using tunnel magnetoresistance sensor. Chin Phys B, 2023, 32(2): 19-24.
38.	Jiao Q, Jin Z, Zhang C, et al. Various noise reduction techniques of magnetoresistive sensors and their applications: A review. Measurement, 2025, 242(Pt D): 116143.
39.	劉斌, 謝明玲, 員朝鑫, 等. 隧穿磁電阻效應磁場傳感器中的噪聲分析及降低噪聲的方法. 甘肅科技, 2024, 40(3): 1-4, 9.
40.	Koshi K, Makoto K, Takafumi N, et al. Development of magnetocardiograph without magnetically shielded room using high-detectivity TMR sensors. Sensors, 2023, 23(2): 646.
41.	伍岳, 肖立業, 侯世中. 磁電阻/超導復合式磁傳感器: 原理及發展. 物理, 2019, 48(1): 14-21.
42.	張琦, 潘孟春, 雷紹鈺, 等. 超導/磁阻式復合磁傳感器高靈敏及三軸化研究. 儀器儀表學報, 2023, 44(9): 175-188.
43.	唐發寬, 李俊峽, 李永樂, 等. 心磁圖心肌缺血臨床診斷要求. 心臟雜志, 2023, 35(6): 621-628.
44.	唐發寬, 李俊峽, 曹雪濱, 等. 心磁圖心肌缺血臨床診斷專家共識. 中國循證心血管醫學雜志, 2024, 16(6): 641-646.

1. 國家心血管病中心, 中國心血管健康與疾病報告編寫組. 中國心血管健康與疾病報告2024概要. 中國循環雜志, 2025, 40(6): 521-559.
2. 婁洋, 周鑫斌, 毛威. 心電成像技術臨床應用展望. 心電與循環, 2021, 40(6): 559-564.
3. M?ntynen V, Konttila T, Stenroos M. Investigations of sensitivity and resolution of ECG and MCG in a realistically shaped thorax model. Phys Med Biol, 2014, 59(23): 7141-7158.
4. Kwon H, Kim K, Lee Y, et al. Non-invasive magnetocardiography for the early diagnosis of coronary artery disease in patients presenting with acute chest pain. Circ J, 2010, 74(7): 1424-1430.
5. Debora B, Tharusan T, Simon G, et al. Application of magnetocardiography to screen for inflammatory cardiomyopathy and monitor treatment response. J Am Heart Assoc, 2023, 12(4): e027619.
6. Kentaro Y, Kuniomi O, Takeshi I, et al. Noninvasive detection of pulmonary venous reconnections by magnetocardiography after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. JACC Clin Electrophysiol, 2023, 10(2): 367-369.
7. Wessel N, Kim J S, Joung B Y, et al. Magnetocardiography at rest predicts cardiac death in patients with acute chest pain. Front Cardiovasc Med, 2023, 10: 1258890.
8. 艾海明, 董哲, 葛靜茹, 等. 超導心磁信號測量技術及冠心病篩查. 中國醫學物理學雜志, 2024, 41(10): 1265-1272.
9. Parimita P S, Sengottuvel S, Rajesh P, et al. Solving inverse problem in magnetocardiography by pattern search method. IETE J Res, 2023, 69(7): 4001-4011.
10. 董繼偉, 宋現濤. 一種心磁圖信號采集與分析軟件系統. 中國醫療設備, 2023, 38(11): 38-43.
11. Inaba T, Nakazawa Y, Yoshida K, et al. Routine clinical heart examinations using SQUID magnetocardiography at University of Tsukuba Hospital. Supercond Sci Technol, 2017, 30(11): 114003.
12. Kesavaraja C, Senthilnathan S, Patel R, et al. Enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of magnetocardiography by optimal channel selection for cardiac diagnosis. Biomed Phys Eng Express, 2024, 10(2): 025023.
13. 邸春霞, 華寧, 謝甲琦, 等. 高溫超導心磁圖儀在糖尿病患者冠脈介入治療中的應用. 中國醫療設備, 2014, 29(4): 6-9.
14. 鄭婷, 孫文娟, 賓峰, 等. 基于超導SQUID的全張量梯度計的研制. 低溫與超導, 2024, 52(9): 22-29.
15. Xu Z, Zhang Z, Yang K, et al. Comprehensive compensation scheme for fetal magnetocardiography measurement. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond, 2024, 34(8): 1600904.
16. Faezeh S, Mehdi F. Low noise active shield for SQUID-based magnetocardiography systems. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond, 2018, 28(4): 9000205.
17. Mace E S, Pena M, Ahee J D, et al. Utility of rest magnetocardiography in patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain: A case series on the CardioFlux MCG. Am Heart J Plus, 2024, 45: 100441.
18. Vargas E D, Ramirez A, Siegel R E, et al. A customized bed based stand alone array of optically pumped magnetometers for fetal magnetocardiography measurements. Sci Rep, 2025, 15(1): 7236.
19. Mace E S, Peacock F W, Stopyra J, et al. Accelerated magnetocardiography in the evaluation of patients with suspected cardiac ischemia: The magneto trial. Am Heart J Plus, 2024, 40: 100372.
20. Yang Y, Liu Z, Wang R, et al. Co-registration method of wearable magnetocardiography system and CT. Biomed Signal Process Control, 2025, 100(Pt A): 106914.
21. Dawson R, O’Dwyer C, Mrozowski S M, et al. Portable single-beam cesium zero-field magnetometer for magnetocardiography. J Opt Microsyst, 2023, 3(4): 044501.
22. Su S, Xu Z, He X, et al. Vector magnetocardiography using compact optically-pumped magnetometers. Heliyon, 2024, 10(7): e29092.
23. Wang Y, Wang H, Yang Y, et al. Research on spatial resolution in cardiac source imaging for multiple measurement modes using a realistic multi-tissue human model. Measurement, 2025, 243: 116353.
24. Lin S, Tang J, Yuan Z. High-sensitivity atomic magnetometer realized by weak-value-amplification effect. Appl Phys Lett, 2023, 123(19): 194001.
25. Yuan Z, Liu Y, Xiang M, et al. Compact multi-channel optically pumped magnetometer for bio-magnetic field imaging. Opt Laser Technol, 2023, 164: 109534.
26. Li J, Fang X, Li R, et al. A miniaturized spin-exchange relaxation-free atomic magnetometer based on uniform light field. Chin Phys B, 2023, 32(5): 435-440.
27. Cook H, Bezsudnova Y, Koponen M L, et al. An optically pumped magnetic gradiometer for the detection of human biomagnetism. Quantum Sci Technol, 2024, 9(3): 035016.
28. Xiao W, Sun C, Shen L, et al. A movable unshielded magnetocardiography system. Sci Adv, 2023, 9(13): eadg1746.
29. Xie X, Zhou X, Zhao F, et al. Uniform bi-planar coil design considering coupling effect of finite thickness for SERF magnetometer array calibration inside magnetically shielded room. Measurement, 2025, 249: 117052.
30. Iwata Z G, Nguyen T C, Tharratt K, et al. Bedside magnetocardiography with a scalar sensor array. Sensors, 2024, 24(16): 5402.
31. Tardelli G P, Tan P, Janette S, et al. Ferrite shield to enhance the performance of optically pumped magnetometers for fetal magnetocardiography. J Clin Med, 2023, 12(9): 3078.
32. Liang Z, Zhang Y, Long T, et al. Four-channel miniaturized SERF magnetometer with spatial inhomogeneous atomic polarization. Opt Laser Technol, 2025, 181(Pt C): 112013.
33. Vimala S G, Subbulekshmi D. Comprehensive introspection of magnetoresistive sensors applied in biomedical diagnostics. Curr Med Imaging, 2023, 20: e250823220366.
34. 李旺. 基于磁柵結構的隧道磁阻微位移傳感技術研究. 太原: 中北大學, 2024.
35. 李銳. 基于磁電阻效應的角度檢測ASIC關鍵技術研究. 成都: 電子科技大學, 2024.
36. Shirai Y, Hirao K, Shibuya T, et al. Magnetocardiography using a magnetoresistive sensor array. Int Heart J, 2019, 60(1): 50-54.
37. 陸知宏, 紀帥, 楊建中. Measurement of T wave in magnetocardiography using tunnel magnetoresistance sensor. Chin Phys B, 2023, 32(2): 19-24.
38. Jiao Q, Jin Z, Zhang C, et al. Various noise reduction techniques of magnetoresistive sensors and their applications: A review. Measurement, 2025, 242(Pt D): 116143.
39. 劉斌, 謝明玲, 員朝鑫, 等. 隧穿磁電阻效應磁場傳感器中的噪聲分析及降低噪聲的方法. 甘肅科技, 2024, 40(3): 1-4, 9.
40. Koshi K, Makoto K, Takafumi N, et al. Development of magnetocardiograph without magnetically shielded room using high-detectivity TMR sensors. Sensors, 2023, 23(2): 646.
41. 伍岳, 肖立業, 侯世中. 磁電阻/超導復合式磁傳感器: 原理及發展. 物理, 2019, 48(1): 14-21.
42. 張琦, 潘孟春, 雷紹鈺, 等. 超導/磁阻式復合磁傳感器高靈敏及三軸化研究. 儀器儀表學報, 2023, 44(9): 175-188.
43. 唐發寬, 李俊峽, 李永樂, 等. 心磁圖心肌缺血臨床診斷要求. 心臟雜志, 2023, 35(6): 621-628.
44. 唐發寬, 李俊峽, 曹雪濱, 等. 心磁圖心肌缺血臨床診斷專家共識. 中國循證心血管醫學雜志, 2024, 16(6): 641-646.

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