Evolution of MEG: A first MEG-feasible fluxgate magnetometer

Abstract

In the current article, we present the first solid-state sensor feasible for magnetoencephalography (MEG) that works at room temperature. The sensor is a fluxgate magnetometer based on yttrium-iron garnet films (YIGM). In this feasibility study, we prove the concept of usage of the YIGM in terms of MEG by registering a simple brain induced field—the human alpha rhythm. All the experiments and results are validated with usage of another kind of high-sensitive magnetometers—optically pumped magnetometer, which currently appears to be well-established in terms of MEG.