Imaging systems for biomedical applications. Final report

Many of the activities of the human body manifest themselves by the presence of a very weak magnetic field outside the body, a field that is so weak that an ultra-sensitive magnetic sensor is needed for specific biomagnetic measurements. Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) are extremely sensitive detectors of magnetic flux and have been used extensively to detect the human magnetocardiogram, and magnetoencephalogram. and other biomagnetic signals. In order to utilize a SQUID as a magnetometer, its transfer characteristics should be linearized. This linearization requires extensive peripheral electronics, thus limiting the number of SQUID magnetometer channels in a practical system. The proposed digital SQUID integrates the processing circuitry on the same cryogenic chip as the SQUID magnetometer and eliminates the sophisticated peripheral electronics. Such a system is compact and cost effective, and requires minimal support electronics. Under a DOE-sponsored SBIR program, we designed, simulated, laid out, fabricated, evaluated, and demonstrated a digital SQUID magnetometer. This report summarizes the accomplishments under this program and clearly demonstrates that all of the tasks proposed in the phase II application were successfully completed with confirmed experimental results