Magnetoenterography for detection of intestinal ischemia in rabbits

Human intestinal ischemia is a potentially fatal medical emergency that does not currently have a reliable noninvasive method of diagnosis. Previous animal studies using serosal electrodes have shown that ischemic small bowel has a lower basic electrical rhythm (BER) frequency than normal bowel. The authors investigate the use of a SQUID magnetometer to measure noninvasively the decrease in BER frequency associated with small bowel ischemia in a rabbit model.