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Multiple Modality Biomagnetic Analysis System
Abstract
As an emerging new modality, biomagnetic analysis presents exciting opportunities while raising some difficult issues. During the past four years researchers at General Electric, The University of Ulm and The University of Chieti have created a state of the art biomagnetic analysis system, and have addressed many of these difficulties. One of the critical aspects of a biomagnetic analysis system is how it handles different types of data. Many of the clinical requirements for a successful system require fast, efficient and flexible data management. This paper describes what those requirements are and how we addressed them. We start by providing a high level overview of our system. We then list some of the pertinent clinical requirements, present our solutions and describe how well they have worked. Finally we discuss future directions.
... With an echo time T E of about 15 ms and a repetition time T R > 800 ms, according to heart beat gating a total measurement time of about 15 min can be reached. At the beginning the Biomagnetic Analysis Console (BAC) software was used for MCG signal analysis [3]. Now, the standard analysis tool is the Open Magnetic and Electric Graphic Analysis (OMEGA) software [4]. ...
Many branches of biomedical science and engineering require geometric modelling of human body parts. The success of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging modalities of computer-aided tomography has lead to many achievements in the scientific visualization of parts of the human body [1],[2]. Typical methods based on slice data generate geometries containing hundreds of thousands triangles that provide excellent details for 3D visualizations, but cannot be used directly for scientific analysis with numerical methods because of to their huge size and lack of “smoothness.”
The non-invasive detection of high resolution magnetocardiographic signals generated by the electrical activation of the heart requires the development of high-resolution magnetic field sensors (superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUlDs)). The ability of multichannel recording and adequate computational power allows an application of this technique suitable for clinical use. The magnetic shielding of the detection chamber is a necessity for a high signal to noise ratio. The basic technical performances, an overview of large MCG systems and as an example for a clinical MCG system a description of the performance of Argos 55 — the new MCG system in Ulm — is presented.
Biomagnetometry is a non-invasive technique for detecting magnetic fields associated with the electrophysiology and magnetic susceptibility of body tissues. The aims of this paper are to provide a review of the discipline of biomagnetism and its measurement using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), and to discuss the potential utility of this technique in sport and exercise science. A tutorial section is presented to provide an introduction to the theory and practical application of SQUID biomagnetometry. A review of the biomagnetism literature demonstrates the variety of previous biomagnetic investigations and suggests several potential applications of biomagnetometry in sport and exercise science. A discussion of these includes an assessment of the advantages of measuring biomagnetic fields as opposed to electrical potentials, with particular reference to the improved precision and accuracy of physiological source modelling using biomagnetic data. There is evidence to suggest that SQUID biomagnetometry would provide useful (and perhaps unique) information on functional, anatomical and physiological assessments in sport and exercise science. Further investigations of biomagnetometry in this discipline should focus on three main areas: cardiology, encephalography and neurology, and body composition assessment.
As biomagnetism activities move from research to applications, there is greater demand for flexible, clinicalquality interfaces with ever-increasing Performance levels. These Operator interfaces require high-power graphical Workstations to control the complex sensor apparatus during the acquisition session and to allow an Operator or experimenter to comprehend and monitor the tremendous volume of data being acquired. The combined number of Channels, sampling rates, and sampling resolutions for current applications demand extremely high digital bandwidths. Finally, the fast-paced development of sensors and the ever-expanding variety of applications have emphasized the need for highly flexible and expandable digital signal-processing power.
Many branches of biomedical science and engineering require geometric modelling of human body parts. The success of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging modalities of computer-aided tomography has lead to many achievements in the scientific visualization of parts of the human body [1],[2]. Typical methods based on slice data generate geometries containing hundreds of thousands triangles that provide excellent details for 3D visualizations, but cannot be used directly for scientific analysis with numerical methods because of to their huge size and lack of “smoothness.”
A realtime, high-bandwidth, programmable digital signal-processing system for monitoring, acquisition, filtering, and archival storage of biomagnetic signals” Biomag’ 96
- N R Corby
- Jr
- P D Miller
- R A Hogle