Magnetic Marker Monitoring: A novel approach for magnetic marker design

Abstract

AbstractMagnetic Marker Monitoring (MMM) has high potential in determination of the motility of the gastrointestinal tract as well as in observation of the dissolution of pharmaceuticals. To establish a wider range of applications stronger magnetic markers and increased flexibility of the measurement setups are required. In this study a novel marker design for MMM is investigated. The marker is composed of one permanent magnet and a compartment of iron powder. The iron powder is reallocated during dissolution, thus altering the external magnetic field. We present our first experimental results obtained for a simplified setup. The markers were produced and the magnetic induction generated by the marker was measured at different distances. Our investigations proved that the magnetic induction is in the range of a few μT which is much higher compared to the pT of conventional markers. The magnetic inductions are decreased in the range of 13% and 21% during dissolution. These results indicate that the novel marker design is well suitable for application in MMM using less sensitive sensor technologies (e.g. magnetoresistive sensors).Keywordsmagnetic marker monitoringmarker designmagnetic field measurementgastrointestinal motilitydissolution process