SSRMP Annual Scientific Meeting 2015

Atomic magnetometers (AM)—also known as optical magnetometers—were introduced inthe late 1950’s. In the past 15 years AM R&D; has received a new boost owing to theimplementation of laser light for the AM operation. AM currently represent the mostsensitive magnetometers and typically allow the detection of magnetic field changes inthe one-digit femto-Tesla range (to note that this is 10 orders of magnitude less than theEarth magnetic field of 40 T !), some devices allowing even sub-fT detection sensitivity. In my presentation I will briefly discuss the principle of atomic magnetometers whichdeploy optically-detected magnetic resonance in spin-polarized atomic vapors. The mainpart of my talk will focus on various AM-based applications in the field of biomedicalimaging that have started to emerge around the world in the past decade. I will addressin particular magneto-cardiography (MCG), magneto-encephalography (MEG), ultralowfield MRI (ULF-MRI), and the very promising applications of magnetic nanoparticles(MNP). MNPs are already being deployed as contrast agents in MRI and forhyperthermia, but offer—in functionalized form—the possibility for targeted cancertreatment and biomedical imaging. For the latter application the technique of magneticparticle imaging (MPI) is particularly interesting, since it has already led to a commercialdevice that permits real-time angiographic imaging in small animals. I will also address our own research work at UNIFR which focused on AM-based MCG inthe past, and which is now centered on applying AMs both to MPI and to MRX(magnetorelaxation, another MNP detection technique) detection. To my knowledge, noneof the mentioned methods has yet found its way into the daily clinical practice and it isvery likely that atomic magnetometers will come to play an important role in futuremedical imaging devices.