8.Applications

Application of Magnetic Sensors in Medicine

Measuring a person in an unshielded room

In future, the main fields of application for the sensors developed in the CRC 1261 are medical diagnostics of the heart and brain as well as the investigation of nerves. In addition, there is a subproject, which uses the sensors to investigate migration processes of cells in artificial tissues.

Damages on nerves can be caused by accidents, compressive stress or certain diseases, e.g. inflammations. In order to help such patients in the best possible way, doctors need accurate information about the position and extent of the damage. Using magnetic sensors, the signal can be followed along the nerve tract. In this way, possible damage points can be localized with millimeter precision. The nature of the signal change allows to draw conclusions about the mechanism of damage.

In some patients with Parkinson's disease or other movement disorders, pharmaceuticals are no longer sufficiently effective. Deep brain stimulation can permanently alleviate certain symptoms, such as the tremor of extremities. Two implanted electrodes stimulate “paralyzed” brain regions. Based on high-resolution measurements with magnetic sensors, the affected areas can be better stimulated by individually controlled electrodes in the future.