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Biomedical subjects

D Drung

Publications and source records attributed to D Drung.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Discrimination of multiple sources using a SQUID vector magnetometer.

For many biomagnetic applications the discrimination between simultaneously active sources is required. To evaluate the performance of a given SQUID system in this respect, the angle between the signal vectors of different sources is used. If the angle reaches large values, discrimination between the multiple sources is possible. We tested this approach with the first module of a new vector magnetometer system consisting of 19 identical modules. Two examples of measurements illustrate the differentiation of multiple sources, i.e. the fetal and the mother's heart signal, and alpha rhythm and heart signal in MEG recordings. This first module of a vector magnetometer system containing 16 SQUIDs is operated at PTB in the new Berlin Magnetically Shielded Room (BMSR 2) The spatial configuration of the 16 integrated SQUID magnetometers of the module is such that all three vector components of the magnetic field can be calculated in three measurement planes at 1.5 cm, 5 cm, and 10.5 cm above the Dewar bottom, respectively. The SQUID magnetometer channels have a typical white noise level of less than 2.3 fT/square root of Hz1/2 at 1 kHz.

Electromagnetic Fields↗

A sensor configuration for a 304 SQUID vector magnetometer.

A novel SQUID vector magnetometer system is introduced which has been specially designed for the use inside the strongly magnetically shielded room BMSR-2 of PTB. The system is housed in a dewar with a flat bottom and an inner diameter of Ø 250 mm. The SQUIDs are arranged so that in addition to the usually measured Z-component of the field the horizontal magnetic fields are measured too. A total of 304 DC-SQUID magnetometers are divided up into 19 identical modules. The 16 low-Tc SQUIDs of each module are located in such a way that an estimation of the magnetic field in all three dimensions is possible at three points inside the module. The 57 SQUIDs of the lowest Z plane of all modules form a hexagonal grid with a base length of 29 mm. The design criteria and the physical principle behind the complex SQUID arrangement are explained.

Electromagnetic Fields↗

Magnetometry of evoked fields from human peripheral nerve, brachial plexus and primary somatosensory cortex using a liquid nitrogen cooled superconducting quantum interference device.

Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) can be used to detect neuromagnetic fields evoked in the peripheral and central nervous system. Up to now, such measurements had to be based on SQUIDs with a low critical temperature (Tc) requiring liquid helium cooling. Recent improvements in high-Tc SQUID technology relying on liquid nitrogen cooling led to a significant reduction in the system's noise level. Hare, first high-Tc recordings of weak neuromagnetic fields are demonstrated. In particular, along the entire somatosensory afferent pathway including peripheral nerves, brachial plexus and primary somatosensory neocortex evoked neuromagnetic activities were detected using conventional recording parameters for bandwidth and number of averages. This opens up a wide perspective for cost-effective high-Tc magnetometry in clinical neuroscience.

Brachial Plexus↗

A 37-channel DC SQUID magnetometer system.

A 37-channel DC SQUID magnetometer system has been built for biomagnetic studies. The SQUID loop of each magnetometer serves as the active sensing element, thereby eliminating the need for flux coupling circuits. The magnetometers are located approximately 3 cm above the outer dewar bottom. The SQUIDs are directly coupled to highly simplified read-out electronics using only five wires per channel; no helium temperature impedance matching circuits are required. Each channel can be independently inserted into or removed from the dewar. Using a novel electronic noise reduction technique the system white and 1 Hz flux density noise values are typically 5 and 10 fT Hz-1/2, respectively, including the noise contribution of the in-house fabricated dewar and the magnetically shielded room. The two parts of the data-processing system allow independent handling of the acquisition and analysing task. Two example measurements demonstrate the advantage of the electronic noise reduction method.

Equipment Design↗