Optimization of a Magnetometric System for Investigation of Magnetic Signals of Biological Objects

Introduction. Registration and analysis of the distribution of the values ??of the parameters of the magnetic field of the heart in the air above the chest (MCG – magnetocardiography) is performed using SQUID magnetometric systems (SQUID – Superconductive Quantum Interference Device) and is increasingly used in clinical practice for non-invasive research in cardiology. The purpose. In the spatial analysis of magnetic signals, both the spatial resolution of the magnetic field measurement data (resolution by “magnetic field”) and the spatial resolution of the biomagnetic signal sources found after solving the inverse magnetostatic problem are important. The correct solution of these interrelated problems affects the interpretation of measurement data and, to a large extent, is determined by the design parameters of the magnetic flux transformers of the measuring channels, the geometric dimensions of the measurement plane and the distances between observation points in this plane. Results. This paper examines both the selection of design parameters for magnetic flux transformers of SQUID gradiometers of measuring channels, and the dimensions of the measurement area and features of the created software for a magnetocardiograph for studying small animals. The results of experimental studies of rat magnetic signals (MCG and nanoparticles), which were performed at the V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, are presented. Conclusions. An algorithm has been developed to optimize the design parameters of flux transformers of measuring channels, the size and number of points of the measurement grid, as well as taking into account the features of the research task in the algorithms for processing the magnetocardiogram signal. An important practical result of the research of the small animal groups is the logical conclusion about the design and use for these purposes of a multi-channel specialized magnetometric system, with the found design parameters of the magnetic flux transformers of the measuring channels, which would allow obtaining measurement data for each object in a given spatial area in 1–5 minutes. Keywords: magnetocardiography, spatial analysis, SQUID gradientometer.