Affordable new magnetometer offers medical applications

Finnish researchers have created an innovative magnetometer that can offer benefits over conventional technology in number of medical applications.

Developed by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the device's manufacturing costs are between 70 and 80 percent lower than those of traditional magnetometers – sensors that measure changes in magnetic fields.

Moreover, the new device is not as sensitive to external magnetic fields as its predecessors, while its design also makes it easier to integrate into measuring systems. It is expected to be commercialised in a few years' time.

Highly-sensitive magnetometers such as this can be used in various medical applications, such as detecting minuscule changes in magnetic fields caused by nerve signals, a process known as magnetoencephalography.

This technique can be used to locate pathological activity in patients with epilepsy who require surgical treatment, to diagnose autism or to map brain activity. Such devices can also be used in mineral exploration, meaning this innovation could have an extremely wide range of uses when it is eventually made available.