Magnetic Pumping of Blood in the Vascular System

Abstract

The subject of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is the study of the motion of electrically conducting fluids in the presence of electro-magnetic fields. When a conductor moves in a magnetic field, the latter induces an electric field in the conductor and thereby electric currents are generated. The interaction of the applied magnetic field and the induced electric currents produce a mechanical force, called the ‘Lorentz force’, which alters the motion of the conductor. Thus if an axially moving magnetic field is applied to a tube of a flowing conducting liquid, such as blood, in such a way that the velocity of the moving field is greater than that of the liquid, the motion of the liquid will be accelerated. On the other hand, if the velocity of the moving magnetic field is smaller than that of the liquid, the motion of the liquid will be retarded. In physiology, this subject of MHD application was first introduced by Kolin (1936) who used it for measuring the rate of blood flow. The possibility of regulating the movement of blood was first mooted by Korchevskii et al. (l965).