A multichannel vector biomagnetometer to characterize gastrointestinal slow waves

描述（由申请人提供）：我们提出对我们现有的超导量子干涉装置（SQUID）生物磁力计（Tristan Model 637 i）进行升级，这将允许我们（1）通过安装额外的通道来增加空间分辨率;以及（2）在记录阵列的中心添加额外的磁矢量传感器。升级后的仪器将有更大的能力，以更高的空间分辨率探测潜在的生物电活动，区分生物电活动的多种来源，并确定生物电活动的微妙时空变化。胃肠道电活动的生物磁检测提供了无创诊断和疾病状态表征的可能性。升级后的设备的主要应用将是胃和肠慢波的检测。在项目1的胃研究中，当前仪器提供了平均传播速度的测定，而胃传播速度表现出已知的空间梯度。改进后的仪器空间分辨率的提高将使我们能够计算在不同的胃区域的传播速度。肠慢波的检测需要更高的空间分辨率，这是由于（1）与胃慢波相比源的相对大小以及（2）在感兴趣段附近存在多个相邻的小肠段。空间分辨率的提高沿着新的矢量传感器将使我们能够更好地区分这些多源，这对项目2的成功至关重要。此外，增加空间分辨率将提高我们在项目3中的建模能力。最后，我们将利用改进后的装置进行胎儿心磁图的研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose an upgrade to our existing Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) biomagnetometer (Tristan Model 637i) that will allow us (1) to increase the spatial resolution by installing additional channels; and (2) to add additional magnetic vector sensors in the center of the recording array. The upgraded instrument will have a greater ability to detect underlying bioelectrical activity with higher spatial resolution, to discriminate multiple sources of bioelectric activity and to identify subtle spatiotemporal variations in bioelectrical activity. The biomagnetic detection of gastrointestinal electrical activity offers the possibility of noninvasive diagnosis and characterization of disease states. The primary application of the upgraded device will be the detection of gastric and intestinal slow waves. In gastric studies in Project 1, the current instrumentation provides for the determination of an average propagation velocity, whereas the gastric propagation velocity exhibits a known spatial gradient. The increased spatial resolution of the modified instrument will allow us to compute the propagation velocity in different gastric regions. The detection of intestinal slow waves requires higher spatial resolution owing to (1) the relative size of the source compared with the gastric slow wave and (2) the presence of multiple adjacent small bowel segments in the vicinity of the segment of interest. The increased spatial resolution along with the new vector sensors will better enable us to distinguish these multiple sources, critical to the success of Project 2. Additionally, increased spatial resolution will improve our modeling abilities in Project 3. Finally, we will use the upgraded device to study the fetal magnetocardiogram.