Title: Medical applications of diamond magnetometry: commercial viability,
Abstract: The sensing of magnetic fields has important applications in medicine,
particularly to the sensing of signals in the heart and brain. The fields
associated with biomagnetism are exceptionally weak, being many orders of
magnitude smaller than the Earth's magnetic field. To measure them requires
that we use the most sensitive detection techniques, however, to be
commercially viable this must be done at an affordable cost. The current state
of the art uses costly SQUID magnetometers, although they will likely be
superseded by less costly, but otherwise limited, alkali vapour magnetometers.
Here, we discuss the application of diamond magnetometers to medical
applications. Diamond magnetometers are robust, solid state devices that work
in a broad range of environments, with the potential for sensitivity comparable
to the leading technologies.