Matthew Whilden with David Farrell

Optimization of a High Tc Susceptometer – Imaging Using High Tc Magnetic Susceptometry

In-vivo magnetic susceptometers using liquid helium cooled low-temperature superconducting materials have been used clinically for over twenty-five years for measuring the amount of iron in the human liver. Despite their accuracy and established medical utility, their cost (>$10 6 ) has limited their adoption to just four centers worldwide. However, recent materials advances in high temperature superconductivity have led to the creation of a susceptometer for measuring liver iron that uses these materials and so requires only liquid nitrogen for its operation. Because of its much lower cost, simplicity, and increased accuracy, this advance has greatly increased the number of potential clinical applications for in-vivo susceptometry. Furthermore, modeling the response of such instrumentation using numerical techniques has recently been found to be very useful for design purposes. In this project, we will use computer simulations to optimize the performance of the next generation of superconducting susceptometers. Specifically, we will characterize the response of six different designs and choose the most promising of these. The chosen design will then be optimized so that it can be built for general clinical use by our industrial partner (Tristan Inc).