Human MCG measurements with a high-sensitivity potassium atomic magnetometer

Measuring biomagnetic fields, such as magnetocardiograms (MCGs), is important for investigating biological functions. To address to this need, we developed an optically pumped atomic magnetometer. In this study, human MCGs were acquired using a potassium atomic magnetometer without any modulating systems. The sensitivity of the magnetometer is comparable to that of high-T_c superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and is sufficient for acquiring human MCGs. The activity of a human heart estimated from the MCG maps agrees well with that measured with SQUID magnetometers. Thus, our magnetometer produces reliable results, which demonstrate the potential of our atomic magnetometer for biomagnetic measurements. (paper)