Breakthrough In Magnet Technology Could Lead to Handheld MRI Scanners
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a handy scientific tool to have around (for instance, it's the fundamental tech behind magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). It's ability to identify and study things like protein structures and chemical compositions make it fantastically flexible, but there is a huge drawback: The size and expense of the superconducting magnets necessary for precision NMR make it an immobile and expensive process. But researchers in Germany have created a portable magnet that could shrink NMR devices from room-size to palm-size. The breakthrough won't replace the large MRI machines necessary for a good medical scan, but it could be the basis for handheld devices that analyze archaeological artifacts on-site or identify blood clots or cancer proteins right in the physician's office, or even in remote areas far from conventional lab resources. The construction of the magnet is naturally somewhat complex, but in a nutshell the researchers stacked three rings...