Automatic system for locating magnetic foreign bodies using GMI magnetometer

Abstract

Abstract The development of systems capable of characterizing the positioning and inclination of metallic objects inside the human body is seen with great interest by health professionals who are responsible for their extraction. A surgical procedure can be shortened from a few hours to minutes with a system that provides accurate positioning data. Thus, the present work aims at the construction of a measurement system of magnetic fields originated by ferromagnetic objects, based on magnetoimpedance (GMI) sensors. The developed system is capable of positioning a ferromagnetic object to be measured with 5 degrees of freedom, being 3 linear (X, Y, Z) and 2 angular (θ, Φ), and measure the magnetic flux density of this source in an automated way. Three tests were performed with a steel needle, varying the angles of inclination to the measurement plane (θ) and rotation angles in the same plane (Φ). The obtained results yieded records of the magnetic patterns formed by the needle, which can be later processed in order to create a localization software.