Non-Invasive Measurement of Iron Overload in the Human Body

We present a magnetic susceptometer to measure the iron overload in patients with pathology, like thalassemia, producing iron store in the body. The output signal is the difference between the induced voltages in two pickups that are located symmetrically with respect to an AC magnetic source. The overall dimensions allow the presence of the whole human torso between the magnetic source and one of the pickup. All the apparatus components work at room temperature; the symmetry, stability and the temperature control, at the milliKelvin level, of the complete apparatus gives the sensitivity, better than 10^-7, necessary to detect the iron quantity of interest for these pathologies. The measurements of human beings recently started in the Center for Congenital Anemia of the "E.O. Ospedali Galliera" in Genoa Italy. The apparatus description, its calibration with healthy volunteers without iron overload, and the preliminary results with patients are presented