Scientists make heart scanner breakthrough

A DISCOVERY by scientists in Yorkshire could lead to earlier diagnosis of heart ailments with their development of an innovative cardiac scanner.

Unborn babies could be among groups to benefit from the breakthrough made by chance by physicists from Leeds University who were investigating a theoretical experiment designed to challenge assumptions made by Albert Einstein in his theory of relativity.

They believe the scanner could also help doctors investigating magnetic fields in the brain linked to epilepsy.

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The scientists say the portable magnetometer, which measures magnetic fields, has unprecedented sensitivity to magnetic fluctuations, enabling it to detect conditions earlier than current techniques including ultrasound, electrocardiograms and existing heart magnetometers.

It will be smaller, gather more information and also be simpler to operate than other devices – allowing skilled nurses to use it instead of doctors, relieving pressure on hospital waiting lists.

It can also function over clothes, reducing examination times, and could even be used in patients' homes.

Physicist Prof Ben Varcoe, who heads the research team, said large-scale magnetometers had been used for some time in drilling for oil and gas, on spacecraft for planet exploration and to detect archaeological and other buried objects.

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But their size, high cost and other technical problems had prevented them from being used to identify heart conditions.

The Leeds device had overcome these difficulties to identify tiny variations in the magnetic signature produced by the heart. Studying the variations could reveal a cardiac condition.

"What we've been able to do is combine existing technology from the areas of atomic physics and medical physics in a completely unique way," he said.

"Early detection of heart conditions improves the prospects for successful treatment. This system will also quickly identify people who need immediate treatment.

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"But our device won't just benefit patients – it will also help ease the strain on healthcare resources and hospital waiting lists."

The team is now working on miniaturising the magnetometer for widespread medical use and following clinical trials it could be ready for routine diagnosis in around three years.

The device is expected to be particularly effective at detecting ischaemia, a condition where blood supply to an area of the body becomes inadequate due to a blockage of the blood vessels.

It could also shorten surgical procedures for people suffering from arrhythmia – a very common condition where the patient has an irregular heartbeat. The condition is corrected by surgery which can last several hours but the new technology could shorten the procedure by as much as 80 per cent.

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It also has potential to be adapted to detect abnormalities in other organs, such as the brain.

The team working on the magnetometer also includes specialists in electronics, precision measurement and optical fibre technology, with initial funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of 450,000.

Prof Varcoe said the breakthrough was all the more remarkable as it came "quite unexpectedly" as they worked on a very different area.

"We were undertaking quantum physics research into Schrdinger's cat paradox – a paradox first put forward to challenge assumptions made by Einstein in his Special Theory of Relativity," he said.

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As part of the work using technology to study the interaction between radiation and matter, they noticed "noise" from a very weak magnetic field.

"So we developed a highly sensitive magnetometer to help us understand this noise source. But when I attended a conference in Australia, it came to my attention that the magnetometer could also contribute to healthcare," he added.

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