Helsinki BEM library

News

• Aug 18 2008: Added an example on EEG forward problem in a 3-layer model. The example requires library version 080701 or newer; if you have an older version, just drop me an email and we'll fix it.
• Jul 9 2008: I am on vacation for the next couple of weeks, so there may be delay in answering your emails and sending the library files.
• Jul 1 2008: The library has been updated: the one-step functions for transfer matrix construction are now updated with bugfixes and more features, and a seldomly occurring mesh-related bug in the core routines of the linear kernel is fixed. An example on 3-layer EEG forward computation is coming soon.
• Nov 21 2007: The BEM library (v1.0) is officially released and this page made public.
• Nov 21 2007: The paper M. Stenroos, V. Mäntynen, and J. Nenonen: "A Matlab library for solving quasi-static volume conduction problems using the boundary element method" is published in the December issue of Computer Methods and Programs and Methods in Biomedicine (88:256-263, 2007).

General Information

Helsinki BEM library is a Matlab source code library for Boundary Element modeling of bioelectromagnetic phenomena and any (quasi)static potential problems that obey the Laplace or Poisson equation. The source code is simple and easy-to-read. The library is suitable both for hands-on learning of the Boundary Element Method and common modeling tasks in, for example, electro- and magnetocardiography or electro- and magnetoencephalography.

Theory and implementation of the library is described in: M. Stenroos, V. Mäntynen, and J. Nenonen: A Matlab library for solving quasi-static volume conduction problems using the boundary element method, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 88:256-263, 2007.

Licensing

The source code of the library is open, but the library is not free software. Some key points in the license are

• The Library and/or The Results can be Used for a non-commercial or academic purpose only.
• The User is not allowed to distribute The Library to a third person.
• When The Library or The Results are Used, The Article has to be cited.
• There is no warranty of any kind.

The second condition in the list above may feel a bit strict. It is valid for any part of the library (see the complete license): If you write your own Matlab code that uses any part of the library, the third party user of your code will have to obtain the license for the library from us. If you, however, are planning to distribute your own Matlab library, in which you would like to include something from our BEM library, contact us! I believe we can reach an agreement.

How to Get the Library?

• Your name and email address, possibly other contact information
• Institution info, for example the university, laboratory, research group, etc.
• Leader of your research group (if you work in a research group...)
• Intended use of the library
• (Other interesting things, like the www-page of your group.)

Examples

• ECG inverse problem: Localization of myocardial ischemia with current density estimation
• EEG forward problem: Potential due to a current dipole is computed on surfaces of a 3-layer head model
• MEG forward problem: Magnetic induction field of a current dipole calculated in a realistic MEG geometry
• Electrostatic scattering problem: A dielectric sphere in a initially homogeneous electric field.

References and Examples

• Stenroos M, Lindholm M, Vesterinen P, Kylmälä M, Konttila T, Dabek J, and Väänänen H: Electrocardiographic detection and quantification of acute myocardial ischemia with dipole modeling, Computers in Cardiology 2006, 33:29-32, 2006.
• Stenroos M, Hänninen H, Lindholm M, Tierala I, and Katila T: Lead field formulation for epicardial potential in electrocardiographic localization of acute myocardial ischemia, IFMBE Proceedings, 11:2265-1 - 2265-5, 2005.
• Stenroos M, Lindholm M, Hänninen H, Tierala I, Väänänen H, and Katila T: Dipole modeling in electrocardiographic classification of acute ischemia, Computers in Cardiology 2005, 32:655-658, 2005.

Links