LASER FIBER OPTIC SENSOR FOR HUMAN BIOMAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS

BIOMAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS CAN NOW MAKE UNIQUE AND SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF ACTIVITY IN THE HUMAN BODY. MOST MEASUREMENTS ARE MADE WITH THE SQUID MAGNETOMETER WHICH HAS SEVERAL MAJOR DISADVANTAGES. THE LONG TERM TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY IN THIS PROPOSAL IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPACT, SENSITIVE, ROOM TEMPERATURE BIOMAGNETIC SENSOR BASED ON A LASER-STIMULATED FIBER OPTIC INTERFEROMETER WITH MAGNETOSTRICTIVE FIELD SENSING ELEMENTS. SPECIFIC AIMS INCLUDE EVALUATION OF HUMAN FIELD EMISSIONS, ASSESSMENT OF PRESENT TECHNOLOGY, IDENTIFICATION OF FIBER OPTIC SENSOR PARAMETERS, DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM, MEASUREMENTS OF SIMULATED HUMAN MAGNETIC FIELDS, CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF A MODEL FOR ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT AND CLINICAL TESTING IN THE PHASE II PROGRAM. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS THE METHODOLOGY INCLUDES A PARAMETRIC STUDY OF SIMULATED FIELD EMISSION VARYING IN AMPLITUDE, FREQUENCY, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND NOISE ENVIRONMENT.