Prototype Magnetometer Could Improve Diagnosis Of Cardiac Conditions.

Prototype Magnetometer Could Improve Diagnosis Of Cardiac Conditions.

CNET News (1/29, Moore) reports on a prototype magnetometer "being developed at the University of Leeds [that] could greatly improve the diagnosis of cardiac conditions." The device "can detect tiny magnetic variations, revealing the presence of cardiac conditions," and the researchers are currently working to develop a miniaturized version that they hope "will be ready for routine diagnostic use within three years." Lead researcher Ben Varcoe said, "The new system gets round previous difficulties by putting the actual detector in its own magnetic shield." Varcoe added that "the sensor his team is developing is placed over the area being examined, lives outside the shielded area, and transmits signals into the detector."