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Biomedical Imaging
Magnetoencephalography
(MEG)
STARCryo's ultra-sensitive SQUID sensors
based on low temperature superconductor (LTS) thin films are in
use at a number of leading research institutions around the world
to record and localize the magnetic signals associated with neuronal
activity in the human brain. Magnetoencephalography
(MEG) is emerging as the primary tool to investigate brain activity
with high spatial as well as high temporal resolution. Other competing
techniques such as functional MRI, SPECT or PET cannot offer the
millisecond temporal resolution attainable with MEG.
Magnetoencephalography
is an essential tool for mapping functional brain activity and
may be superposed with MRI data in order to correlate the localized
activity in the brain with anatomical information. This data is
invaluable for pre-operative surgical planning, and US insurance
companies are now paying reimbursements for this procedure.
(shown above: Whole-head MEG system manufactured
and offered by Eagle
Technology and internal helmet assembly showing sockets for
STARCryo LTS SQUID gradiometer sensors.)
Magnetocardiography
(MCG)
In the Western world, 6,000,000 people die every year from heart
diseases. During the past few years, there have been significant
advances in the development of magnetic imaging technologies for
cardiology, and numerous studies have demonstrated the advantages
of magnetocardiography (MCG) in clinical applications. For example,
there are approximately 300,000 cases of Sudden Cardiac Death
(SCD) annually in the US alone, and of those individuals that
survive a near-miss SCD episode around 40% will die from an arrhythmia
within two years. Although an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
(ICD) can reduce the mortality rate significantly, there is no
known clinical diagnostic method available for accurate risk analysis
of SCD. Recent studies have shown that MCG may be an accurate
tool for risk analysis of SCD via the detection of Ventricular
Tachyarrhythmia. Early diagnosis of ischemia is another important
application for MCG. Studies have shown that ischemia at a very
early stage can be observed using MCG but not using electrical
measurement techniques (e.g., EKG). STARCryo ultra-sensitive dc
SQUID sensors are ideally suited for applications such as MCG.
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