Biomagnetic Sensing

The transition from electric to magnetic measurements has several advantages in a variety of applications. If, e.g., electroencephalo- or electrocardiographic analysis are supported by their magnetic counterparts, the corresponding analyses might deliver much better results. However, it's not trivial to establish the corresponding magnetic systems. Further details can be found here.

CRC 1261

The general objectives of the Collaborative Research Centre 1261 "Magnetoelectric Sensors: From Composite Materials to Biomagnetic Diagnostics" are the research and development of different magnetoelectric sensor approaches with a special focus on high sensitivity at biomagnetic frequencies and their evaluation and utilization in medically or biologically relevant questions. Further details can be found here.

Outreach

We support interactive and engaging science communication and education on biomagnetic sensing. Together with CRC 1261 researchers, we develops and offer a wide range of outreach activities, like public lectures, interactive exhibitions, lab visits, visits to schools, student project days and many more. Further details can be found here.

Spring Experimental Weeks of CRC 1261 at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Berlin

The Collaborative Research Center 1261 successfully concludes its series of experimental stays at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Department 8.2 (Biosignals) in Berlin. The two weeks, spanning from April 22 to May 4, 2024, were marked by the use of PTB's exceptional facilities, such as the Berlin Magnetically Shielded Room 2.1 (BMSR-2.1), which provided an ideal environment for conducting magnetic experiments under reproducible laboratory conditions.

The experimental team of the CRC 1261, this time consisting of PhD students Johan Arbustini (Project B1), Giuseppe Barbieri (Project A8), and Eric Elzenheimer as a postdoc (Project Z2), performed several experiments. One focus was on invention and approval of an evaluation strategy for magnetometers, where the department "Metrology of Ultra-Low Magnetic Fields" with Jens Voigt (Group leader) and Silvia Knappe-Grüneberg and Eric Elzenheimer are working closely together. Besides the evaluation of our ME sensors, one novel multichannel MEG system (24 channels, single axis, closed loop) based on Optically Pumped Magnetometers (OPMs) has been accessed. Furthermore, the characterization of functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) was carried out in the department "Metrology for Magnetic Nanoparticles" under the leadership of Frank Wiekhorst and with the help of Patricia Radon. In particular, using magnetorelaxometry devices and susceptibility measuring devices, the dynamic characteristics of our functionalized MNP was investigated. This analysis provides the basis for using our ME sensors in a potential new application project.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all members of the Department 8.2 at PTB. Your efforts and expertise were instrumental in the successful progress and smooth execution of all the planned experiments. We look forward to the next rework phase, which involves the detailed evaluation and cooperative analysis of the recorded data from the experiments. The outcomes we are confident are interesting to the whole scientific magnetic sensing community. We are excited to continue the experimental work next autumn.


The experimental visiting team before the impressive BMSR-2.1 building, with an inner core area of 3m x 3m x 3m.		The team, right to left, consists of Silvia Knappe-Grüneberg (PTB), Eric Elzenheimer (Z2), Johan Arbustini (B1), and Giuseppe Barbieri (A8).