ETH professor Klaas Prussmann has developed technology to improve MRI accuracy by detecting tiny changes in magnetic fields.
An MRI’s strong magnetic field, which makes it difficult for sensors to detect up small details. Prussmann’s integrated digital radio receiver addresses this by decreasing background noise significantly.
In a recent paper, he said: “In addition to boosting absolute sensitivity at high field, the reported approach also affords superior relative sensitivity. At the level of one part per trillion, it is competitive with the most sensitive low-field magnetometry techniques devised to-date.”
The sensor was positioned in front of a patient’s chest while in the MRI. Data showed tiny, regular changes in the magnetic field, representing his heartbeat. The measurement curve is similar to an ECG, although it measures the contraction of the heart rather than electrical conduction. These changes were significantly smaller than the 7 tesla field strength of the MRI used in the experiment.
Thea technique also develops better contrast agents, which could lead to improved nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in biological and chemical research.
Disrupting MRI will be a focus of Digital Health + NeuroTech Silicon Valley on February 7-8 at Stanford. Mary Lou Jepsen will lead the discuss on on Wearable, MRI-like opto-electronics to detect and treat cancer, heart, and brain diseases, on February 7th at 11am.
ApplySci’s 6th Digital Health + NeuroTech Silicon Valley – February 7-8 2017 @ Stanford | Featuring: Vinod Khosla – Tom Insel – Zhenan Bao – Phillip Alvelda – Nathan Intrator – John Rogers – Roozbeh Ghaffari –Tarun Wadhwa – Eythor Bender – Unity Stoakes – Mounir Zok – Sky Christopherson – Marcus Weldon – Krishna Shenoy – Karl Deisseroth – Shahin Farshchi – Casper de Clercq – Mary Lou Jepsen – Vivek Wadhwa – Dirk Schapeler – Miguel Nicolelis.
Early registration rates available through Friday, January 6th