A powerful weapon of a great country, research in Hangzhou! Is this "extremely weak magnetic field" emitted by the human brain the legendary "sixth sense"?

Some people say that when two people miss each other to a certain degree, a magnetic field will be generated. Obviously, this does not belong to the scope of physical science research, but is just a way for people to express strong emotions.

Modern science and technology have revealed that all matter has magnetism and magnetic fields exist in any space.

For example, how strong is the magnetic field generated by the human brain?

It is very weak, about 100 fT (unit of magnetic induction intensity), which is about one billionth of the Earth's magnetic field.

So, can we capture such a weak magnetic field to study its relationship with some human brain diseases and then make further use of it?

After all, there are some medical facts that prove this possibility. For example, brain disorders such as epilepsy require highly sensitive detectors to detect weak magnetic fields in the brain, thereby helping doctors obtain key information that can be used for treatment.

Such an imaginative prospect is exciting.

On May 26, the Hangzhou Institute of Extremely Weak Magnetic Fields Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure was unveiled, and its research focus is on "extremely weak magnetic fields."

The institute was established in December 2020 and is located in Binjiang District.

This is a high-level new research and development institution jointly built by the governments of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City and Binjiang District. It is responsible for the cultivation, construction, operation and maintenance, and technological upgrading of the major scientific and technological infrastructure of extremely weak magnetic fields of Beihang University.

The Institute has set two goals:

Within ten years, we will build a major national scientific and technological innovation platform, a scientific and technological innovation highland, and a production, education, research and application cooperation base with a certain international influence.

In the long term, a national laboratory for extremely weak magnetic fields and an international zero-magnetic science center with important international influence will be built.

What is an extremely weak magnetic field?

Magnetic fields are widely present in nature. Moreover, most substances have weak magnetism, and only a few substances will show strong magnetism under certain conditions.

The various phenomena exhibited by weakly magnetic materials are called "weak magnetic phenomena". The "weak magnetic science" formed by this is a discipline that studies the weak magnetic phenomena, nature, laws and applications of matter. It is a branch of magnetism.

In physics, the strength of a magnetic field is expressed in terms of magnetic induction intensity. The greater the magnetic induction intensity, the stronger the magnetic induction, and the smaller the magnetic induction intensity, the weaker the magnetic induction.

"Extremely weak magnetic field" refers specifically to a magnetic field that is difficult to measure or impossible to perceive.

The precise measurement of extremely weak magnetic fields is widely used in geomagnetic navigation, geological resource exploration, scientific research, national defense construction, medical instruments and other fields. To accurately measure extremely weak magnetic fields, an ultra-highly sensitive magnetic field measurement device is required.

At present, the Hangzhou Institute of Extremely Weak Magnetic Fields Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure has built a number of domestically unique and world-leading scientific research instruments and equipment, including the "Ultra-High Sensitivity Extremely Weak Magnetic Cardio-Brain Magneto-Imaging Measurement Scientific Research Device" and the "SERF-based Ultra-High Sensitivity Extremely Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Research Device".

The brain's magnetic field is one billionth that of the Earth's

How is it detected?

Let’s go back to the possibility of extremely weak magnetic fields and curing brain diseases.

If you want to ask what the use of the major scientific and technological infrastructure of "ultra-high sensitivity and extremely weak magnetic field and inertial measurement device" is, it can be summarized into three aspects.

1. Generate new scientific discoveries: neural signal measurement and brain science research, achieve "precision measurement", and verify major propositions such as cutting-edge physics EDM (electric dipole moment).

2. Overcome the pathogenesis of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases: ultra-high-resolution extremely weak magnetic imaging technology to achieve "high-definition imaging".

3. Realize “Made in China” high-end medical devices: Ultra-weak magnetic imaging replaces functional nuclear magnetic resonance and promotes cross-generational development of high-end medical equipment.

Taking "conquering the pathogenesis of major cardiovascular and brain diseases" as an example, extremely weak brain magnetism or heart magnetism ultra-high resolution imaging devices will provide scientists and doctors with better diagnostic tools.

In terms of brain disease diagnosis, current medical equipment based on structural imaging cannot effectively diagnose epilepsy, developmental brain diseases, degenerative brain diseases, and other mental illnesses. Brain magnetic imaging has great advantages in the diagnosis of such diseases.

Extremely weak brain magnetocardiographic ultra-high resolution imaging can provide a passive, non-destructive, wearable, and highly sensitive new technical means for epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease, children's developmental brain diseases, and degenerative brain diseases.

Such imaging equipment is urgently needed by thousands of hospitals in China.

Traditional heart disease diagnosis relies on electrocardiogram (ECG), but the sensitivity and spatial resolution of ECG detection are relatively low and cannot meet the needs. Compared with traditional ECG detection, the sensitivity and spatial resolution of magnetic heart detection have been greatly improved, providing a disruptive technology for the diagnosis of major heart diseases.

In the diagnosis of heart disease, extremely weak magnetic cardiac imaging has the characteristics of specificity, high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, flexible probe and non-contact, and can be used in many medical applications.

For example, high-precision magnetic heart tracing and positioning of arrhythmia-related diseases, assistance in formulating surgical plans, postoperative rehabilitation assessment, ischemic heart disease, non-contact rapid diagnosis of fetal magnetic heart, cardiac vitality assessment, early diagnosis of fetal arrhythmia, and growth and development assessment.

The Hangzhou Institute of Extremely Weak Magnetic Field Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure is chaired by Professor Fang Jiancheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Academic Committee of the Beihang University, as its chairman, chief scientist and chief designer.

Fang Jiancheng said that the "ultra-high sensitivity extremely weak magnetic field and inertial measurement device" will be built into the world's only, highest performance, and largest "zero magnetic" space, providing an extreme weak magnetic environment and extreme measurement methods.

How will this extreme measurement method change the world?

Fang Jiancheng answered this question in an interview with China Science Daily.

In terms of the world's scientific and technological frontiers, the bottleneck of brain science research has made ultra-high sensitivity neural signal measurement and magnetoencephalography research equipment urgently needed. Ultra-high sensitivity and extremely weak magnetic field measurement technology will contribute to this and is expected to support original research in zero magnetic science from "0" to "1".

In terms of meeting major national needs, magnetic anomaly detection and deep space magnetic detection are crucial to maintaining national marine and space security, and require the development of a new generation of higher-precision magnetometers based on new mechanisms.

In terms of people's life and health, atomic magnetometers with continuously improving sensitivity will assist in the research and treatment of major cardiovascular and brain diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and elderly heart failure. High-end cardiac and brain magnetic imaging devices based on the transformative technology of extremely weak magnetic measurement are expected to assist in the diagnosis of major diseases such as autism, depression, neurological dysfunction, heart failure, etc.

Hangzhou: Striving to build a comprehensive national science center

Major scientific and technological infrastructure is a large-scale, complex scientific and technological research device or system that provides extreme research means for exploring the unknown world, discovering natural laws, and leading technological change.

As an important part of the national innovation system, major scientific and technological infrastructure is the material and technological foundation for solving the "bottleneck" problems of key industries, supporting the research and development of key core technologies, and ensuring economic and social development and national security. It is a strategic battleground for seizing the global technological commanding heights and building new competitive advantages.

The reason why Hangzhou is so vibrant is because of its courage to innovate.

Over the past five years, Hangzhou has always placed the construction of a "city of innovation and vitality" in a prominent position.

In the next five years, Hangzhou will "promote high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and create a new paradise for innovation and entrepreneurship."

In the task of "accelerating the construction of a global innovation source", Hangzhou mentioned speeding up the construction of world-class large scientific facilities and striving to attract more "national heavy equipment" to settle in Hangzhou.

The "Ultra-High Sensitivity and Extremely Weak Magnetic Field and Inertial Measurement Device" national major scientific and technological infrastructure project is the only key project in Zhejiang Province included in the "14th Five-Year Plan for National Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure".

At present, Hangzhou has promoted "striving to build a comprehensive national science center" as the overall work to guide the "14th Five-Year Plan" scientific and technological innovation.

Building a comprehensive national science center requires the support of major scientific facilities.

In terms of building high-end innovation platforms, new R&D institutions such as Zhijiang Laboratory, West Lake University, Alibaba Damo Academy, and Beihang University Hangzhou Innovation Institute have begun to take shape, and the construction of major scientific facilities (platforms) such as the National Supergravity Centrifuge Simulation and Experimental Facility is being accelerated.

The addition of Hangzhou's extremely weak magnetic field major scientific and technological infrastructure, a "national treasure", will lay an important foundation for Hangzhou to strengthen cutting-edge basic research, enhance Hangzhou's innovation capabilities, and build a comprehensive national science center.

Lin Jianan, reporter of Chengshi Interactive and Metropolis Express