Magnetic field measurement device, magnetic field measurement method, magnetic field measurement program

Abstract

To provide a magnetic field measurement device composed of a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each comprising a magnetic sensor.SOLUTION: A magnetic field measurement device includes: a magnetic sensor array 210 which is composed of a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 each comprising a magnetic sensor; a magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 which acquires measurement data measured by the magnetic sensor array 210; a signal space separation unit 1160 which performs signal separation to a spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data on the basis of a position and magnetic sensitivity of each magnetic sensor; and an arithmetic processing unit 1170 which removes, from the internal space data, at least a part of a variation component being common to magnetic measurement data indicating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data and the external space data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a magnetic field measurement device, a magnetic field measurement method, and a magnetic field measurement program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes that "interspatial interference is removed, for example, by using SSP operations." [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2006 / 114473 Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present invention, a magnetic field measuring device is provided. The magnetic field measuring device may include a magnetic sensor array composed of a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each having a magnetic sensor. The magnetic field measuring device may include a magnetic field acquiring unit that acquires measurement data measured by the magnetic sensor array. The magnetic field measuring device may include a signal space separating unit that separates the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data based on the position and magnetic sensitivity of each magnetic sensor. The magnetic field measuring device may include a calculation processing unit that removes at least a part of the fluctuation component common to the magnetic field measurement data indicating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data and the external space data from the internal space data.

[0004] The calculation processing unit may extract a common fluctuation component based on a correlation between a basis of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data and a basis of the time domain of the external space data.

[0005] The calculation processing unit may calculate a basis in the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data and a basis in the time domain of the external space data by performing singular value decomposition on the magnetic field measurement data and the external space data, respectively.

[0006] The calculation processing unit may extract a common fluctuation component by performing principal component analysis on a basis of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data and a basis of the time domain of the external space data.

[0007] The calculation processing unit may calculate a correlation coefficient by singular value decomposition of the covariance of the time domain basis of the magnetic field measurement data and the time domain basis of the external space data, and extract components for which the correlation coefficient exceeds a predetermined threshold as common fluctuation components.

[0008] The magnetic sensor may include a magnetoresistive element.

[0009] The magnetic sensor may further include magnetic concentrators disposed on both ends of the magnetoresistive element.

[0010] Each of the multiple magnetic sensor cells may further have a magnetic field generating unit that generates a feedback magnetic field that reduces the input magnetic field detected by the magnetic sensor, and an output unit that outputs an output signal corresponding to a feedback current that the magnetic field generating unit flows to generate the feedback magnetic field.

[0011] The signal space separation unit may perform signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field based on basis vectors calculated from the orthonormal functions, the positions, and the magnetic sensitivities.

[0012] The signal space separation section may perform series expansion of the basis vectors to separate the spatial distribution of the magnetic field into signals.

[0013] The signal space separation unit may calculate the expansion coefficients of the basis vectors by the least squares method.

[0014] The orthonormal functions may be expressed as spherical harmonics.

[0015] The magnetic field measuring device may further include a calibration calculation unit that calibrates the measurement data acquired by the magnetic field acquisition unit.

[0016] The magnetic sensor array may be configured by arranging a plurality of magnetic sensor cells to form a surface covering at least a portion of the measurement object.

[0017] In the magnetic sensor array, a plurality of magnetic sensor cells may be arranged three-dimensionally so as to be located at lattice points between two curved surfaces that are curved in one direction.

[0018] The curved surface may be formed in a generally parabolic shape.

[0019] The calculation processing unit may remove at least a portion of the fluctuation components common to the external space data and data obtained by subtracting the internal space data from the magnetic field measurement data, from the internal space data.

[0020] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic field measurement method. The magnetic field measurement method may include acquiring measurement data measured by a magnetic sensor array composed of a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each having a magnetic sensor. The magnetic field measurement method may include signal-separating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data based on the position and magnetic sensitivity of each magnetic sensor. The magnetic field measurement method may include removing at least a part of the fluctuation component common to the magnetic field measurement data indicating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data and the external space data from the internal space data.

[0021] In a third aspect of the present invention, a magnetic field measurement program is provided. The magnetic field measurement program may be executed by a computer. The magnetic field measurement program may cause the computer to function as a magnetic field acquisition unit that acquires measurement data measured by a magnetic sensor array composed of a plurality of magnetic sensor cells, each having a magnetic sensor. The magnetic field measurement program may cause the computer to function as a signal space separation unit that performs signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data based on the position and magnetic sensitivity of each magnetic sensor. The magnetic field measurement program may cause the computer to function as an arithmetic processing unit that removes at least a part of the fluctuation component common to the magnetic field measurement data indicating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data and the external space data from the internal space data.

[0022] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features of the present invention. Also, subcombinations of these features may also be inventions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 shows the configuration of a magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 shows the configuration of a magnetic sensor unit 110 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 2 shows the configuration and arrangement of magnetic sensor cells 220 in a magnetic sensor array 210 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 shows an example of input / output characteristics of a magnetic sensor having a magnetoresistive element according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 2 shows an example of the configuration of a sensor unit 300 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 2 shows an example of input / output characteristics of the sensor unit 300 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 2 shows an example of the configuration of a magnetic sensor 520 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 13 shows a magnetic flux distribution when a feedback magnetic field is generated in the magnetic sensor 520 according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] 2 shows an example of the arrangement of a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 in a magnetic sensor array 210 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] An example of the definition of space in the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment will be shown. [Figure 11] 1 shows the configurations of a magnetic sensor array 210, a sensor data collection unit 230, and a sensor data processing unit 1100 according to this embodiment. [Figure 12] 13 shows a flow of signal separation of the spatial distribution of a magnetic field by the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 13] An example of a flow in which the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment removes remaining interference components from the internal space data ^Bin that has been subjected to signal space separation will be shown. [Figure 14] 11 shows a simulation result of magnetic field measurement data B according to the present embodiment. [Figure 15] 13 shows a simulation result of the internal space data ^Bin before removing the common fluctuation component according to the present embodiment. [Figure 16] 13 shows a simulation result of the internal space data ^Bin_tSSS after removing the common fluctuation component according to the present embodiment. [Figure 17] An example of a computer 9900 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part, is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0025] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a magnetic field measuring device 10 according to this embodiment. The magnetic field measuring device 10 according to this embodiment separates the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the magnetic field measurement data measured using a magnetic sensor array into internal space data and external space data. Then, the magnetic field measuring device 10 removes at least a part of the fluctuation components common to the magnetic field measurement data and the external space data from the internal space data. In this embodiment, a case where the magnetic field measuring device 10 is a magnetocardiogram measuring device that measures the magnetocardiogram, which is a magnetic field generated by the electrical activity of the human heart, will be described as an example. However, this is not limited to this. The magnetic field measuring device 10 may be used to measure the magnetocardiogram of a living body other than a human, or may be used to measure a biomagnetic field other than the magnetocardiogram, such as a brain magnetic field. The magnetic field measuring device 10 may also be used for magnetic flaw detection to detect scratches on the surface and surface of steel materials and welds.

[0026] The magnetic field measuring device 10 includes a main body 100 and an information processing unit 150. The main body 100 is a component for sensing the subject's magnetic field, and includes a magnetic sensor unit 110, a head 120, a driving unit 125, a base unit 130, and a pole unit 140.

[0027] The magnetic sensor unit 110 is disposed at a position facing the heart on the chest of the subject during cardiac magnetism measurement, and senses the cardiac magnetism of the subject. The head 120 supports the magnetic sensor unit 110 and makes the magnetic sensor unit 110 face the subject. The driving unit 125 is provided between the magnetic sensor unit 110 and the head 120, and changes the orientation of the magnetic sensor unit 110 relative to the head 120 when performing calibration. The driving unit 125 according to this embodiment includes a first actuator that can rotate the magnetic sensor unit 110 360 degrees around the Z axis in the figure, and a second actuator that rotates the magnetic sensor unit 110 around an axis perpendicular to the Z axis (the X axis in the state in the figure), and uses these to change the azimuth angle and zenith angle of the magnetic sensor unit 110. As shown as the driving unit 125 in the figure, the driving unit 125 has a Y-shape when viewed from the Y-axis direction in the figure, and the second actuator can rotate the magnetic sensor unit 110 360 degrees around the X axis in the figure.

[0028] The base 130 is a base that supports other components, and in this embodiment, serves as a platform on which the subject stands when measuring the magnetic field of the heart. The pole 140 supports the head 120 at the height of the subject's chest. The pole 140 may be extendable in the vertical direction to adjust the height of the magnetic sensor unit 110 to the height of the subject's chest.

[0029] The information processing unit 150 is a component for processing measurement data by the main body unit 100 and outputting the data by display, printing, etc. The information processing unit 150 may be a computer such as a PC (personal computer), a tablet computer, a smartphone, a workstation, a server computer, or a general-purpose computer, or may be a computer system in which multiple computers are connected. Alternatively, the information processing unit 150 may be a dedicated computer designed for information processing of magnetocardiography, or may be dedicated hardware realized by a dedicated circuit.

[0030] 2 shows a configuration of the magnetic sensor unit 110 according to this embodiment. The magnetic sensor unit 110 has a magnetic sensor array 210 and a sensor data collection section 230. The magnetic sensor array 210 has a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 and is capable of detecting an input magnetic field in three axial directions. This figure shows a case where a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 (for example, 8 magnetic sensor cells 220 in the X direction, 8 magnetic sensor cells 220 in the Y direction, and 2 magnetic sensor cells 220 in the Z direction, totaling 128 magnetic sensor cells) are arranged in each of the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction in the magnetic sensor array 210.

[0031] The sensor data collection unit 230 is electrically connected (not shown) to the multiple magnetic sensor cells 220 included in the magnetic sensor array 210, collects sensor data (detection signals) from the multiple magnetic sensor cells 220, and supplies them to the information processing unit 150.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the magnetic sensor cells 220 in the magnetic sensor array 210 according to this embodiment. Each of the magnetic sensor cells 220 has at least one sensor unit 300 having a magnetoresistance element. In this figure, a case is shown as an example in which each of the magnetic sensor cells 220 has three sensor units 300x to z (collectively referred to as "sensor units 300") and can detect an input magnetic field in three axial directions. However, each of the magnetic sensor cells 220 is not limited to having three sensor units 300x to z, and it is sufficient that at least a part of the magnetic sensor array 210 can detect an input magnetic field in three axial directions. In this case, as described later, when spatially sampling each spherical harmonic function by the magnetic sensor array 210, it is necessary to detect the dependency on the spatial frequency related to the angular momentum in the magnetic field. Therefore, it is preferable that the sensor units 300 in the magnetic sensor array 210 are arranged as evenly as possible at least in the azimuth angle direction and the zenith angle direction. For the same reason, the magnetic sensing axes of the sensors in the magnetic sensor array 210 should be arranged as evenly as possible at least in the azimuth angle direction and the zenith angle direction. The sensor unit 300x is arranged along the X-axis direction and can detect the magnetic field in the X-axis direction. The sensor unit 300y is arranged along the Y-axis direction and can detect the magnetic field in the Y-axis direction. The sensor unit 300z is arranged along the Z-axis direction and can detect the magnetic field in the Z-axis direction. As shown by the enlarged view indicated by the dashed and dotted lines in this figure, in this embodiment, each sensor unit 300 has a magnetic concentrator plate arranged on both ends of the magnetic resistance element. Therefore, each sensor unit 300 can clarify the sampling point in space in each axis direction by sampling the spatial distribution of the magnetic field using the magnetic resistance element arranged in a narrow position sandwiched between the magnetic concentrator plates. The details of the configuration of each sensor unit 300 will be described later.

[0033] The magnetic sensor cells 220 are arranged at equal intervals of Δx along the X-axis direction, Δy along the Y-axis direction, and Δz along the Z-axis direction. The position of each magnetic sensor cell 220 in the magnetic sensor array 210 is represented by a set [i, j, k] of a position i in the X-axis direction, a position j in the Y-axis direction, and a position k in the Z-axis direction. Here, i is an integer satisfying 1≦i≦Nx (Nx indicates the number of the arranged magnetic sensor cells 220 arranged in the X-axis direction), j is an integer satisfying 1≦j≦Ny (Ny indicates the number of the arranged magnetic sensor cells 220 arranged in the Y-axis direction), and k is an integer satisfying 1≦k≦Nz (Nz indicates the number of the arranged magnetic sensor cells 220 arranged in the Z-axis direction). In the above description, a case where the magnetic sensor cells 220 are arranged at equal intervals along each axial direction has been shown as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The multiple magnetic sensor cells 220 may be arranged at different intervals in at least one of the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, for example.

[0034] In this figure, the three-axis directions of the magnetic field detected by the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z are the same as the three-dimensional direction in which the magnetic sensor cells 220 are arranged. This makes it easy to grasp each component of the distribution of the measured magnetic field. In addition, the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z are arranged in each magnetic sensor cell 220 so as not to overlap each other when viewed from each of the three-dimensional directions in which the magnetic sensor cells 220 are arranged. In addition, in this figure, the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z are arranged such that one end is provided on the side of a gap provided between the multiple sensor units 300, and the other end extends in each of the three axial directions so as to be away from the gap. As an example, in this figure, a gap is provided at the lower left corner of the magnetic sensor cell 220 when viewed from the front, and the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z are arranged so that one end is in contact with the gap and the other end is extended in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions away from the gap. In this figure, the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z are arranged from one corner of the cubic magnetic sensor cell 220 along three sides perpendicular to each other, and a gap is provided at the one corner. In addition, it is preferable that the coils or magnetic bodies of the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z described later are arranged so as not to overlap each other. This makes it possible to clarify the measurement point and to further facilitate the understanding of each component of the measured magnetic field. In addition, the other axis sensitivities of the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z can be regarded as equivalent to each other. This other axis sensitivity is generated by mutual interference due to the coils or magnetic bodies of the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z. However, the three-axis directions of the magnetic field to be detected may be different from the three-dimensional direction in which the magnetic sensor cells 220 are arranged. When the two are different, there is no restriction on the arrangement of the sensor units 300 in the magnetic sensor cells 220 or the arrangement direction of the magnetic sensor cells 220, and the degree of freedom in designing the magnetic sensor array 210 can be increased.

[0035] 4 shows an example of input / output characteristics of a magnetic sensor having a magnetic resistance element according to this embodiment. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates the magnitude B of the input magnetic field input to the magnetic sensor, and the vertical axis indicates the magnitude V_xMR0 of the detection signal of the magnetic sensor. The magnetic sensor has, for example, a giant magneto-resistance (GMR) element or a tunnel magneto-resistance (TMR) element, and detects the magnitude of a magnetic field in a predetermined uniaxial direction.

[0036] Such a magnetic sensor has high magnetic sensitivity, which is the gradient of the detection signal V_xMR0 relative to the input magnetic field B, and can detect a weak magnetic field of about 10 pT. On the other hand, the detection signal V_xMR0 of the magnetic sensor saturates when the absolute value of the input magnetic field B is about 1 μT, for example, and the range in which the linearity of the input / output characteristics is good is narrow. Therefore, adding a closed loop that generates a feedback magnetic field to such a magnetic sensor can improve the linearity (also called linearity) of the magnetic sensor. Such a magnetic sensor will be described next.

[0037] 5 shows an example of the configuration of the sensor unit 300 according to this embodiment. The sensor unit 300 is provided inside each of the magnetic sensor cells 220, and includes a magnetic sensor 520, a magnetic field generating unit 530, and an output unit 540. Note that a part of the sensor unit 300, for example, an amplifier circuit 532 and the output unit 540, may be provided on the sensor data collecting unit 230 side instead of on the magnetic sensor cell 220 side.

[0038] The magnetic sensor 520 has a magnetoresistance element such as a GMR element or a TMR element, similarly to the magnetic sensor described in FIG. 4. The magnetic sensor 520 also has magnetic concentrators arranged at both ends of the magnetoresistance element. The magnetoresistance element of the magnetic sensor 520 may be formed so that, when the positive direction of the magnetic sensing axis is the +X direction, the resistance value increases when a magnetic field in the +X direction is input, and the resistance value decreases when a magnetic field in the -X direction is input. That is, by observing the change in the resistance value of the magnetoresistance element of the magnetic sensor 520, the magnitude of the magnetic field B input to the magnetic sensor 520 can be detected. For example, when the magnetic sensitivity of the magnetic sensor 520 is S, the detection result of the magnetic sensor 520 with respect to the input magnetic field B can be calculated as S×B. Note that the magnetic sensor 520 is connected to a power source, for example, and outputs a voltage drop according to the change in the resistance value as the detection result of the input magnetic field. The configuration of the magnetic sensor 520 will be described in detail later.

[0039] The magnetic field generating unit 530 applies to the magnetic sensor 520 a feedback magnetic field that reduces the input magnetic field detected by the magnetic sensor 520. For example, the magnetic field generating unit 530 generates a feedback magnetic field B_FB that is in the opposite direction to the magnetic field B input to the magnetic sensor 520 and has an absolute value substantially equal to that of the input magnetic field, thereby operating to cancel the input magnetic field. The magnetic field generating unit 530 includes an amplifier circuit 532 and a coil 534.

[0040] The amplifier circuit 532 outputs a current according to the detection result of the input magnetic field of the magnetic sensor 520 as a feedback current I_FB. When the magnetic resistance element of the magnetic sensor 520 is configured by a bridge circuit including at least one magnetic resistance element, the outputs of the bridge circuit are connected to the input terminal pair of the amplifier circuit 532. The amplifier circuit 532 outputs a current according to the output of the bridge circuit as a feedback current I_FB. The amplifier circuit 532 includes, for example, a transconductance amplifier, and outputs the feedback current I_FB according to the output voltage of the magnetic sensor 520. For example, when the voltage-current conversion coefficient of the amplifier circuit 532 is G, the feedback current I_FB can be calculated as G×S×B.

[0041] The coil 534 generates a feedback magnetic field B_FB according to the feedback current I_FB. The coil 534 is wound so as to surround the magnetoresistance element of the magnetic sensor 520 and the magnetic concentrator plates arranged on both ends of the magnetoresistance element. It is desirable that the coil 534 generates a uniform feedback magnetic field B_FB throughout the magnetic sensor 520. For example, if the coil coefficient of the coil 534 is β, the feedback magnetic field B_FB can be calculated as β×I_FB. Here, the feedback magnetic field B_FB is generated in a direction that cancels the input magnetic field B, so that the magnetic field input to the magnetic sensor 520 is reduced to B-B_FB. Therefore, the feedback current I_FB is expressed by the following equation.

number

[0042] By solving equation (1) for the feedback current I_FB, it is possible to calculate the value of the feedback current I_FB in the steady state of the sensor unit 300. If it is assumed that the magnetic sensitivity S of the magnetic sensor 520 and the voltage-current conversion coefficient G of the amplifier circuit 532 are sufficiently large, the following equation can be calculated from equation (1).

number

[0043] The output unit 540 outputs an output signal V_xMR according to the feedback current I_FB that the magnetic field generating unit 530 flows to generate the feedback magnetic field B_FB. The output unit 540 has, for example, a resistive element with a resistance value R, and outputs a voltage drop caused by the feedback current I_FB flowing through the resistive element as the output signal V_xMR. In this case, the output signal V_xMR is calculated from equation (2) as follows:

number

[0044] As described above, the sensor unit 300 generates a feedback magnetic field that reduces the magnetic field input from outside, thereby reducing the magnetic field that is substantially input to the magnetic sensor 520. As a result, the sensor unit 300 can prevent the detection signal V_xMR from being saturated even if the absolute value of the input magnetic field B exceeds 1 μT by using, for example, a magnetoresistance element having the characteristics of FIG. 4 as the magnetic sensor 520. The input / output characteristics of such a sensor unit 300 will be described next.

[0045] 6 shows an example of the input / output characteristics of the sensor unit 300 according to this embodiment. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates the magnitude B of the input magnetic field input to the sensor unit 300, and the vertical axis indicates the magnitude V_xMR of the detection signal of the sensor unit 300. The sensor unit 300 has high magnetic sensitivity and can detect a minute magnetic field of about 10 pT. Furthermore, the sensor unit 300 can maintain good linearity of the detection signal V_xMR even if the absolute value of the input magnetic field B exceeds 100 μT, for example.

[0046] That is, the sensor unit 300 according to the present embodiment is configured so that the detection result for the input magnetic field B has linearity within a predetermined range of the input magnetic field B, for example, the absolute value of the input magnetic field B being several hundred μT or less. By using such a sensor unit 300, for example, a weak magnetic signal such as a magnetocardiogram signal can be easily detected.

[0047] FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the magnetic sensor 520 according to the present embodiment. As an example, the magnetic sensor 520 according to the present embodiment has a magnetoresistance element 702 and magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 arranged at one end and the other end of the magnetoresistance element 702. The magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 are arranged to sandwich the magnetoresistance element 702 between them. That is, the magnetic concentrators are arranged at both ends of the magnetoresistance element 702. In FIG. 7, the magnetic concentrator 704 arranged at the right end of the magnetoresistance element 702 along the magnetic sensing axis in a front view is a magnetic concentrator provided on the positive side of the magnetic sensing axis, and the magnetic concentrator 706 arranged at the left end of the magnetoresistance element 702 is a magnetic concentrator provided on the negative side of the magnetic sensing axis. When a magnetic field is input to the magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 from the negative side to the positive side of the magnetic sensing axis, the resistance of the magnetoresistance element 702 may increase or decrease. The magnetic sensing axis may be along the direction of magnetization fixed by a magnetization fixed layer forming the magnetoresistance element 702. The magnetic concentrator plates 704 and 706 are made of a soft magnetic material such as iron. By disposing the magnetic concentrator plates 704 and 706 made of a soft magnetic material at one end and the other end of the magnetoresistance element 702, the magnetic lines of force passing through the magnetoresistance element 702 can be increased, and the sensitivity of the magnetic sensor 520 can be increased.

[0048] In this figure, an example in which the magnetic flux concentrator is disposed at both one end and the other end of the magnetoresistance element 702 is shown, but the magnetic flux concentrator may be disposed at only one end or the other end of the magnetoresistance element 702. However, in order to further increase the sensitivity of the magnetic sensor 520, it is preferable to provide the magnetic flux concentrator at both one end and the other end of the magnetoresistance element 702. Furthermore, when the magnetic flux concentrator is provided at both one end and the other end of the magnetoresistance element 702, the position of the magnetoresistance element 702 disposed at a narrow position between the two magnetic flux concentrators 704 and 706 becomes a magnetic sensing portion, i.e., a spatial sampling point, so that the magnetic sensing portion becomes clear, and the compatibility with the signal space separation (SSS) technology described later can be further increased. In this way, by using a magnetic sensor 520 in which magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 are arranged on both ends of a magnetic resistance element 702 in each sensor unit 300, the magnetic field measuring device 10 of this embodiment can sample the spatial distribution of the magnetic field at an extremely narrow position (e.g., 100 μm or less) in each axial direction, with both ends sandwiched between the magnetic concentrators, as shown in Figure 3, so that the sampling accuracy (positional accuracy) is higher than when the spatial distribution of the magnetic field is sampled using a SQUID coil (up to 2 cm) that measures biomagnetic fields.

[0049] FIG. 8 shows a magnetic flux distribution when a feedback magnetic field is generated in the magnetic sensor 520 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 8, the same reference numerals are used for components having the same functions and configurations as those in FIG. 7, and description will be omitted except for the differences. In the magnetic sensor 520 according to this embodiment, when a feedback current is supplied to the feedback coil 534, the feedback coil 534 generates a feedback magnetic field, and a magnetic flux distribution as shown by the dashed line in this figure is generated. The magnetic flux generated by this feedback magnetic field is spatially distributed so as to cancel the spatial distribution of the magnetic field input to the magnetoresistance element 702 and magnetically amplified by the magnetic concentrators 704 and 706. Therefore, in the case where the magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 are arranged at both ends of the magnetoresistance element 702 as shown in this figure, the magnetic sensor 520 can accurately cancel the magnetic field distribution at the position of the magnetoresistance element 702 by the feedback magnetic field, and therefore a sensor with high linearity between the input magnetic field and the output voltage can be realized.

[0050] FIG. 9 shows an example of the arrangement of the multiple magnetic sensor cells 220 in the magnetic sensor array 210 according to this embodiment. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the magnetic sensor array 210 is shown as being planar. However, in reality, the magnetic sensor array 210 may have a curved shape that is curved in at least one direction as shown in this figure. The multiple magnetic sensor cells 220 may be arranged three-dimensionally so as to be arranged at lattice points included in the curved shape. As an example, the magnetic sensor array 210 may be arranged three-dimensionally so as to be arranged in an arc shape in cross section.

[0051] That is, the magnetic sensor cells 220 may be arranged in a circular arc shape in a cross section along the chest of the measured object, with the center of gravity of the measured object as the center. In this case, each magnetic sensor cell 220 is arranged at a lattice point included in a curved surface shape in a three-dimensional lattice space. Here, the lattice points are lattice-like points arranged at equal intervals at predetermined intervals in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. As an example, each magnetic sensor cell 220 is arranged along a curved surface having a convex in a direction perpendicular to the one direction when viewed from any one of the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. In this figure, an example is shown in which each magnetic sensor cell 220 is arranged along a curved surface having a convex in the positive direction of the Z axis when viewed from the Y direction. The magnetic sensor array 210 may form a curved shape having a convex in the positive direction of the Z axis by, for example, arranging each magnetic sensor cell 220 at a lattice point in a three-dimensional lattice space so that each vertex of each magnetic sensor cell 220 is arranged as far in the negative direction of the Z axis as possible without exceeding a predetermined curved surface having a convex in the positive direction of the Z axis.

[0052] More specifically, in the cross-sectional view of this figure, the multiple magnetic sensor cells 220 on the inside (Z-axis negative side), i.e., the magnetic sensor cells 220[1,j,1] to 220[8,j,1], are arranged outside the arc indicated by the dashed line of the reference numeral 915 so as to be arranged outside the inscribed circle of the magnetic sensor array 210 indicated by the reference numeral 910. Also, the multiple magnetic sensor cells 220 on the outside (Z-axis positive side), i.e., the magnetic sensor cells 220[1,j,2] to 220[8,j,2], are arranged inside the arc indicated by the dashed line of the reference numeral 925 so as to be arranged inside the circumscribed circle of the magnetic sensor array 210 indicated by the reference numeral 920. The centers of these inscribed and circumscribed circles are common and coincide with the coordinate origin in the signal separation calculation described later.

[0053] In this way, the magnetic sensor array 210 may be configured by arranging a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220, each having a magnetic sensor 520, to form a surface covering at least a part of the measurement object. In particular, in the magnetic sensor array 210, the plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 may be arranged three-dimensionally so as to be arranged at lattice points between two curved surfaces curved in one direction. Such a curved surface may be formed in a substantially parabolic shape. Thereby, in the magnetic sensor array 210, the sensor unit 300 can be arranged not only in one direction facing the heart but also in multiple directions, and the cardiac magnetism can be sensed from multiple directions. In addition, in the magnetic sensor array 210 according to this embodiment, the magnetic sensor cells 220 are formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as an example, so that the shape of the magnetic sensor array 210 can be easily changed. That is, the magnetic sensor array 210 according to this embodiment can adopt various shapes that can be configured by arranging the magnetic sensor cells 220 at lattice points, and has a high degree of freedom in design. Therefore, as shown in this figure, the magnetic sensor array 210 can easily form a curved shape in a three-dimensional space by arranging a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 at lattice points included in the curved shape in a three-dimensional space. The magnetic field measuring device 10 measures the magnetic field by arranging the magnetic sensor array 210 so that the chest of the measured object is located on the center side of the curved surface, that is, so that the heart, which is the source of the magnetic field to be measured, is located on the center side of the curved surface. As a result, the magnetic field measuring device 10 can separate the magnetic field to be measured and the disturbance magnetic field with high accuracy by performing signal space separation (described later) using measurement data measured at a position close to the heart, which is the source of the magnetic field to be measured. In this case, it is preferable that the magnetic sensor array 210 has a curvature of the curved surface that is approximately equal to the curvature around the chest of the measured object, because the magnetic field can be measured at a position closer to the heart, which is the source of the magnetic field to be measured.

[0054] FIG. 10 shows an example of the definition of space in the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment. The outside of the circle circumscribing the magnetic sensor array 210 indicated by the reference numeral 920 is defined as the external space. The inside of the circle inscribing the magnetic sensor array 210 indicated by the reference numeral 910 is defined as the internal space. The inside of the circle inscribing the magnetic sensor array 210 indicated by the reference numeral 920 and the outside of the circle inscribing the magnetic sensor array 210 indicated by the reference numeral 910 are defined as intermediate spaces, which cannot be clearly distinguished as either the external space or the internal space. When measuring the magnetic field of the heart, the magnetic field measuring device 10 places the magnetic sensor array 210 so that the object to be measured (i.e., the heart of the subject to be measured) is positioned opposite the surface formed by the magnetic sensor array 210 in the internal space. At this time, the magnetic field of the heart to be measured is defined as the magnetic field Bin to be measured generated in the internal space.

[0055] Here, when the magnetic field of the heart is measured by the magnetic sensor array 210 and the spatial distribution of the magnetic field shown by the measurement data is subjected to signal separation (signal separation here may be called signal space separation), if the measurement target magnetic field Bin can be accurately separated and extracted from other disturbance magnetic fields, the electrical activity of the heart can be grasped more accurately. However, when the magnetic field measuring device 10 measures the measurement target magnetic field Bin, various environmental magnetic fields may interfere as disturbance magnetic fields. Such disturbance magnetic fields may include, for example, the external space magnetic field Bout generated in the external space and the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate generated in the intermediate space. Therefore, in reality, the estimate of the measurement target magnetic field Bin after signal space separation, that is, the internal space data ^Bin (where "^" means hat (estimated value)), may include interference components that cannot be accurately separated as disturbance magnetic fields and remain as such, in addition to the measurement target magnetic field Bin generated by the electrical activity of the heart. Such interference components may include components caused by the external space magnetic field Bout that should have been separated as external space data ^Bout, and components caused by the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate that has remained as a component common to both the internal space data ^Bin and the external space data ^Bout.

[0056] The component caused by the external space magnetic field Bout increases in proportion to the magnitude of the sensor error. Here, when the magnetic sensor 520 has the magnetoresistance element 702, the errors of the main axis sensitivity and the other axis sensitivity of the sensor may increase due to the manufacturing error of the magnetoresistance element 702, etc. In addition, when the magnetic sensor 520 has magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 arranged at both ends of the magnetic resistance element 702, the errors of the main axis sensitivity and the other axis sensitivity of the sensor may further increase due to the deviation of the relative position between the magnetic concentrators 704 and 706 and the magnetic resistance element 702. For this reason, the interference component caused by the external space magnetic field Bout becomes non-negligible due to the increase in the sensor error of the magnetic sensor 520. The magnetic field measuring device 10 according to this embodiment removes at least a part of the residual interference components, particularly the components caused by the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate, from the internal space data ^Bin subjected to signal space separation.

[0057] FIG. 11 shows the configuration of a magnetic sensor array 210, a sensor data collection section 230, and a sensor data processing section 1100 according to this embodiment.

[0058] The magnetic sensor array 210 is configured by arranging a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220, each having a magnetic sensor 520, to form a surface covering at least a part of the object to be measured. As an example, each of the plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 has a plurality of sensor units 300x to z as described above. In this figure, among the plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220 that the magnetic sensor array 210 has in each dimensional direction, parts related to positions [i, j, k], [i+1, j, k], [i, j+1, k], and [i, j, k+1] are shown.

[0059] The sensor data collecting unit 230 has a plurality of AD converters 1110 and a clock generator 1112. The plurality of AD converters 1110 are provided corresponding to the plurality of sensor units 300x to 300z of the magnetic sensor cell 220, and convert analog detection signals (sensor output signals V_xMR in FIG. 6) output by the corresponding sensor units 300 into digital measurement data (Vx, Vy, Vz). Here, Vx, Vy, and Vz are measurement values ​​(representing, for example, digital voltage values) obtained by converting the detection signals from the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z into digital form.

[0060] The clock generator 1112 generates a sampling clock and supplies a common sampling clock to each of the multiple AD converters 1110. Then, each of the multiple AD converters 1110 performs AD conversion according to the common sampling clock supplied from the clock generator 1112. Therefore, all of the multiple AD converters 1110 that perform AD conversion on the outputs of the three-axis sensor units 300x-z provided at different positions operate synchronously. This allows the multiple AD converters 1110 to simultaneously sample the detection results of the three-axis sensor units 300x-z provided in different spaces.

[0061] The sensor data processing unit 1100 has a plurality of magnetic field acquisition units 1120 corresponding to each of the plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220, a plurality of calibration calculation units 1130, a plurality of data output units 1140, a basis vector storage unit 1150, a signal space separation unit 1160, and a calculation processing unit 1170.

[0062] The magnetic field acquiring unit 1120 is connected to three AD converters 1110 each connected to a corresponding magnetic sensor cell 220, and acquires measurement data measured by the sensor units 300x to z in the magnetic sensor cells 220 constituting the magnetic sensor array 210. Specifically, the magnetic field acquiring unit 1120 may be configured using a flip-flop or the like that latches and acquires the digital measurement data (Vx, Vy, Vz) converted by the AD converter 1110 at a predetermined timing T.

[0063] The calibration calculation unit 1130 is connected to the magnetic field acquisition unit 1120, and calibrates the measurement data acquired by the magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 using the calibration parameters. The calibration of the measurement data by the calibration calculation unit 1130 is outlined as follows. The magnetic field input to the magnetic sensor cell 220 at the position [i, j, k] is B(Bx, By, Bz), and the detection result of the three-axis magnetic sensor by the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z is V(Vx, Vy, Vz). In this case, if the magnetic sensor characteristics of the three-axis magnetic sensor are represented by a matrix S, the detection result V of the three-axis magnetic sensor can be expressed as follows:

number

[0064] Here, Sxx, Syy, and Szz represent the sensitivity in the main axis direction (main axis sensitivity) of the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z, respectively, and Sxy, Sxz, Syx, Syz, Szx, and Szy represent the sensitivity in the other axis direction (other axis sensitivity). Also, Vos,x, Vos,y, and Vos,z represent the offset of the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z, respectively. Here, the main axis direction is the direction in which the sensor units 300x, 300y, and 300z mainly measure, and the other axis direction is the direction in which they mainly do not measure. In measuring a magnetic field, the main axis direction is the direction in which the magnetic sensor shows the maximum sensitivity when a magnetic field is input (input axis direction, sensitivity axis direction). And the other axis direction is an axis perpendicular to the main axis direction. For example, when the sensor unit 300x measures the X-axis direction, the main axis direction is the X-axis, and the other axis directions are the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. Ideally, the magnetic sensor 520 has only the main axis sensitivity, but may have other axis sensitivity due to process factors and the like. The magnetic sensor 520 also has other axis sensitivity caused by the above-mentioned mutual interference. A vertical vector represented by three components of the main axis sensitivity and other axis sensitivity of the sensor unit 300 is called a sensitivity vector. For example, the sensitivity vector nx of the sensor unit 300x is represented by three components (Sxx, Sxy, Sxz). At this time, the output of the sensor unit 300x is the inner product of the input magnetic field to the sensor and the sensitivity vector nx. Similarly, the sensitivity vector ny of the sensor unit 300y is represented by three components (Syx, Syy, Syz), and the sensitivity vector nz of the sensor unit 300z is represented by three components (Szx, Szy, Szz).

[0065] Since each of the sensor units 300 has linearity in the detection result for the input magnetic field within the range of the input magnetic field to be detected, each element of the matrix S has an approximately constant coefficient that is independent of the magnitude of the input magnetic field B. Even if the sensor unit 300 has other-axis sensitivity, as long as the detection result of the sensor unit 300 has linearity, each element of the matrix S has an approximately constant coefficient that is independent of the magnitude of the input magnetic field B.

[0066] Therefore, the calibration calculation unit 1130 can convert the measurement data V (Vx, Vy, Vz) into the magnetic field measurement data B (Bx, By, Bz) indicating the original input magnetic field by using the inverse matrix S-1 of the matrix S and the offset (Vos, x, Vos, y, Vos, z) as shown in the following formula. That is, the calibration calculation unit 1130 calibrates the digital measurement data V from the magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 using the main axis sensitivity, the other axis sensitivity, and the offset. As a result, the calibration calculation unit 1130 corrects the offset, the sensitivity in the main axis direction, and the sensitivity in the other axis direction. Note that this conversion is also valid when the sensor unit 300x to z is equipped with the above-mentioned magnetic concentrator. This is because the magnetic sensor cell 220 is configured as a three-axis magnetic sensor using the sensor units 300x to z, and conversion using linear algebra is possible. In addition, when a high-pass filter or the like is provided between the output of the sensor unit 300 and the calibration calculation unit 1130 to make the measurement data V an AC component, the calibration of the offset may be omitted. That is, the calibration calculation unit 1130 may calibrate the digital measurement data V from the magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 using at least one of the main axis sensitivity, the other axis sensitivity, and the offset. In addition, these calibration parameters may be calculated by measuring a known DC or AC magnetic field in advance. In addition, the calibration calculation unit 1130 in this embodiment only needs to calibrate the output from each magnetic sensor cell 220 as a component expressed as a coordinate system formed by three independent vectors, and does not necessarily need to correct it to a three-axis component expressed as a coordinate system of three orthogonal vectors (so-called Cartesian coordinate system). That is, when all the magnetic sensor cells 220 are measuring the same magnetic field, each calibration calculation unit 1130 corresponding to each magnetic sensor cell 220 may calibrate the digital measurement data V from the corresponding magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 into the same magnetic field measurement data B expressed in independent three-axis components.

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[0067] The calibration calculation unit 1130 calculates the inverse matrix S-1 and offset (Vos, x, Vos, y, Vos, z) of the matrix S using the environmental magnetic field measurement data, and converts the magnetic field measurement data acquired by the magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 into magnetic field measurement data B using these calibration parameters and supplies it to the data output unit 1140.

[0068] As described above, since each sensor unit 300 has linearity, the calibration calculation unit 1130 can use an approximately constant coefficient to convert the measurement data into magnetic field measurement data B. That is, the approximately constant coefficient used by the calibration calculation unit 1130 can be determined as a set of calibration parameters using environmental magnetic field data.

[0069] The data output unit 1140 supplies the magnetic field measurement data B calibrated by the calibration calculation unit 1130 to the signal space separation unit 1160 .

[0070] The basis vector storage unit 1150 pre-stores basis vectors necessary for the signal space separation unit 1160 to perform signal separation of the magnetic field measurement data B, and supplies these to the signal space separation unit 1160. Such basis vectors may be calculated from the positions and magnetic sensitivities of the magnetic sensors 520.

[0071] The signal space separation unit 1160 performs signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data, i.e., the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the magnetic field measurement data B obtained by calibrating the digital measurement data V, into internal space data ^Bin and external space data ^Bout based on the positions and magnetic sensitivities of the magnetic sensors 520. For example, the signal space separation unit 1160 performs signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field based on the basis vectors calculated from the orthogonal normal functions, the positions of the magnetic sensors 520, and the magnetic sensitivities. At this time, the signal space separation unit 1160 may perform signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field by expanding the basis vectors into series. More specifically, the signal space separation unit 1160 may calculate the expansion coefficients of the basis vectors by the least squares method. Note that such orthogonal normal functions may be expressed by spherical harmonic functions. Details of the signal separation will be described later. In this way, the signal space separation unit 1160 separates the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the magnetic field measurement data B into internal space data ^Bin and external space data ^Bout. The signal space separation unit 1160 supplies the magnetic field measurement data B, which is the data before signal separation, and the internal space data ^Bin and external space data ^Bout, which are the data after signal separation, to the calculation processing unit 1170.

[0072] The arithmetic processing unit 1170 removes at least a part of the fluctuating components common to the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout, which indicate the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data, from the internal space data ^Bin. For example, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 calculates the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout by singular value decomposition of the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout, respectively. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 extracts the common fluctuating components based on the correlation between the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout. At this time, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 may calculate the coefficient of correlation by singular value decomposition of the covariance of the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout, for example, and extract the component whose coefficient of correlation exceeds a predetermined threshold as the common fluctuating component. The calculation processing unit 1170 may extract common fluctuation components by performing principal component analysis on the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout in this way. Then, the calculation processing unit 1170 removes at least a part of the fluctuation components common to the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout extracted in this way from the internal space data ^Bin, and outputs the result. Details of such calculation processing will also be described later.

[0073] FIG. 12 shows a flow of the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment performing signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field. In step 1210, the basis vector storage unit 1150 stores basis vectors. As an example, the basis vector storage unit 1150 stores, as basis vectors, signal vectors output by each of the multiple magnetic sensors 520 when the magnetic sensor array 210 detects a magnetic field having a spatial distribution of a spherical harmonic function before measuring the magnetic field to be measured. That is, the basis vectors may be calculated in advance from the positions and sensitivity vectors of the magnetic sensors 520 in the magnetic sensor array 210 and stored in the basis vector storage unit 1150. That is, the basis vector storage unit 1150 stores, as basis vectors, magnetic field signal vectors obtained by spatially sampling the spherical harmonic function when a predetermined point in space is designated as the coordinate origin. In other words, the basis vector storage unit 1150 calculates in advance the magnetic field signal vectors, which express the magnetic field in space in two subspaces (a signal source space to be measured and a disturbance space) based on the series expansion of the spherical harmonic function, from the positions and sensitivity vectors of the magnetic sensors 520, and stores them as basis vectors. Here, the spherical harmonic function is a function obtained by restricting a homogeneous polynomial, which is a solution of the n-dimensional Laplace equation, to a unit sphere, and has orthonormality on the sphere. Note that in this figure, as an example, a case is shown in which step 1210 in which the basis vector storage unit 1150 stores the basis vectors is the first step in the flow of signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field by the magnetic field measuring device 10. However, the basis vector storage unit 1150 may store the basis vectors in advance before the flow of signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field by the magnetic field measuring device 10. In addition, the basis vector storage unit 1150 may store a signal vector that is predetermined by a simulation result or the like as a basis vector.

[0074] Next, in step 1220 , the signal space separator 1160 acquires from the data output unit 1140 the magnetic field measurement data B that has been measured by the magnetic sensor array 210 and calibrated by the calibration calculator 1130 .

[0075] Furthermore, in step 1230, the signal space separating unit 1160 acquires from the basis vector storage unit 1150 the signal vectors that were stored as basis vectors by the basis vector storage unit 1150 in step 1210. Note that in this flow, either step 1220 or step 1230 may be performed first.

[0076] In step 1240, the signal space separation unit 1160 performs series expansion on the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the magnetic field measurement data B acquired in step 1220, using the signal vector acquired in step 1230 as a basis vector. Then, the signal space separation unit 1160 performs signal separation on the spatial distribution of the magnetic field from the vector obtained by series expansion into internal space data ^Bin (estimated value of the magnetic field to be measured) and external space data ^Bout (estimated value of the disturbance magnetic field). Note that the orthogonal function may be a spherical harmonic function. Furthermore, when performing signal separation, the signal space separation unit 1160 calculates the series expansion coefficients of the basis vectors by the least squares method. This will be described in detail below.

[0077] The static magnetic field B(r) can be calculated as the spatial gradient of the potential V(r) using the potential V(r) that satisfies the Laplace equation ΔV(r) = 0, as shown in the following equation: Here, r is the position vector that represents the position from the coordinate origin, Δ is the Laplacian, μ is the magnetic permeability, and ∇ is the operator that represents the vector differentiation operation.

number

[0078] The solution to the Laplace equation is generally given by the spherical harmonics Yl,m, which are a system of orthonormal functions. Since the potential V(r) has a solution in the form of a series expansion using (θ,φ), it can be expressed by the following equation. Here, |r| is the absolute value of the position vector r (distance from the coordinate origin), θ and φ are two argument angles in spherical coordinates, l is the azimuthal quantum number, m is the magnetic quantum number, α and β are multipole moments, and Lin and Lout are the series numbers for the space in front of and behind the magnetic sensor array 210 as seen from the subject, respectively. The azimuthal quantum number l is a positive integer, and the magnetic quantum number m is an integer from -l to +l. That is, for example, when l is 1, m is -1, 0, and 1, and when l is 2, m is -2, -1, 0, 1, and 2. Note that since there is no single magnetic pole in the magnetic field, the azimuthal quantum number l in (Equation 7) starts from 1, not 0. The first term in (Equation 7) is a term inversely proportional to the distance from the coordinate origin, and indicates the potential existing in the space in front of the magnetic sensor array 210 as seen from the subject. The second term in (Equation 7) is a term proportional to the distance from the coordinate origin, and indicates the potential existing in the space behind the magnetic sensor array 210 as seen from the measured object.

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[0079] Therefore, according to (Equation 6) and (Equation 7), the static magnetic field B(r) can be expressed by the following equation. Here, the first term in (Equation 8) represents a magnetic field source existing in the space in front of the magnetic sensor array 210 as viewed from the measured object, i.e., the cardiac magnetic field (magnetic field to be measured) created by the electrical activity of the heart. Also, the second term in (Equation 8) represents a disturbance magnetic field created by a magnetic field source existing in the space behind the magnetic sensor array 210 as viewed from the measured object.

number

[0080] When the solution of the Laplace equation is expressed in the form of a series expansion using spherical harmonic functions, the general solution is an infinite series, but it is sufficient to obtain a sufficient SNR (signal-to-noise ratio, i.e., the ratio of the magnetic field signal to be measured to the disturbance magnetic field and sensor noise) to measure the biomagnetic field, and it is said that it is sufficient to express it in a series of about 10 terms. In addition, for the series of signal space separation in magnetoencephalography, Lin=8 and Lout=3 are generally used. Therefore, in this embodiment, Lin and Lout can be used with values ​​similar to those mentioned above. However, the values ​​of Lin and Lout are not limited to these, and can be any numerical value that is sufficient to sufficiently suppress the disturbance magnetic field and calculate only the magnetic field to be measured.

[0081] Here, for a total of N sensors used in the magnetic sensor array 210, a1,m and bl,m are defined as follows. Here, n1, n2,...nN are sensitivity vectors of each sensor unit. Note that a1,m and bl,m are vectors with a dimension equal to three times the number of magnetic sensor cells 220 (because there are sensor units 300x, y, and z). In other words, they are vectors with a dimension equal to the total number of sensors. As an example, this vector (a1,m, bl,m) is calculated using data corrected in the calibration calculation unit 1130 from the output of each magnetic sensor cell 220. In this way, the values ​​of a1,m and bl,m calculated including the sensitivity in the main axis direction of the sensor unit 300x, y, and z and the sensitivity correction in the other axis direction (corrected sensitivity vector) are stored in the basis vector storage unit 1150. The magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment, in which the basis vector storage unit 1150 stores the values ​​of al,m and bl,m calculated including the correction of the magnetic sensitivity (principal axis sensitivity, other axis sensitivity), can correct the magnetic sensitivity (principal axis sensitivity, other axis sensitivity) of each magnetic sensor cell 220 by performing correction in the calibration calculation unit 1130 on the data acquired by the magnetic field acquisition unit 1120 during operation. As another example, when the basis vector storage unit 1150 stores the default values ​​of al,m and bl,m without the correction of the magnetic sensitivity (principal axis sensitivity, other axis sensitivity) (by the uncorrected sensitivity vector), the calibration calculation unit 1130 converts the output of each magnetic sensor cell 220 into data in which the magnetic sensitivity has been corrected so as to match the default sensitivity vector of each sensor unit as shown in (Equation 5), and outputs it to the data output unit 1140, and then the signal space separation unit 1160 performs the calculation.

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[0082] Since a1,m and bl,m are defined in this way, the sensor output vector Φ outputted from each magnetic sensor cell 220 at a certain time can be expressed by the following equation.

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[0083] Furthermore, Sin, Sout, Xin, and Xout are defined as follows. That is, Sin is defined as a Lin × (Lin + 2) column vector in total, which is a column of vectors a arranged in order from l = 1 to l = Lin when m = -l to l for each l. Also, Sout is defined as a Lout × (Lout + 2) column vector in total, which is a column of vectors b arranged in order from l = 1 to l = Lout when m = -l to l for each l. Also, Xin is defined as each multipole moment α when m = -l to l for each l, from l = 1 to l = Lin. l,m Let Xout be the vector of Lin × (Lin + 2) rows in total, which is the transposed vector of the vectors arranged in columns. Also, let Xout be the multipole moment β l,m is defined as a vector with a total of Lout × (Lout + 2) rows, obtained by transposing the vectors arranged in columns.

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[0084] Then, the sensor output vector Φ can be expressed as an inner product of a matrix S and a column vector X as shown in the following equation. Here, the matrix S indicates a basis vector, and is obtained, for example, by the signal space separation unit 1160 from the basis vector storage unit 1150 in step 1230. Moreover, the column vector X indicates a coefficient related to the basis vector.

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[0085] In step 1240, the signal space separation unit 1160 according to this embodiment determines a vertical vector X that satisfies Φ=SX by least square approximation using the following equation based on the model equation of the sensor output vector Φ obtained in this (Equation 12). As a result, the signal space separation unit 1160 can solve the spatial distribution of the magnetic field in step 1240. That is, the signal space separation unit 1160 can estimate the spatial distribution of the magnetic field. That is, the signal space separation unit 1160 can estimate the measurement target magnetic field Bin as the internal space data ^Bin=SinXin and the disturbance magnetic field as the external space data ^Bout=SoutXout, using the sensor output vector Φ in Equation 12 as the magnetic field measurement data B. At this time, the signal space separation unit 1160 may issue a warning that the measurement target magnetic field Bin cannot be estimated with high accuracy when the magnitude of the external space data ^Bout exceeds a predetermined range. This allows the magnetic field measuring device 10 to prevent in advance the measurement of the magnetic field Bin to be measured in a situation where the device is broken, or where there is a disturbance magnetic field so large that the magnetic field Bin to be measured cannot be estimated with high accuracy, etc. In this case, the signal space separating unit 1160 may determine that the magnitude of the disturbance magnetic field exceeds a predetermined range when the magnitude of any of the components of SoutXout exceeds a predetermined threshold, or may determine that the magnitude of the disturbance magnetic field exceeds a predetermined range when the sum or average of the magnitudes of the components of SoutXout exceeds a predetermined threshold.

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[0086] Then, the signal space separation unit 1160 supplies the magnetic field measurement data B, which is the data before signal separation acquired in step 1220, and the internal space data ^Bin and external space data ^Bout, which are the data after signal separation in step 1240, to the calculation processing unit 1170.

[0087] As a result, the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment can perform signal separation of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the magnetic field measurement data B measured using the magnetic sensor array 210 configured by arranging a plurality of magnetic sensor cells 220, each having a magnetic sensor 520, to form a surface covering at least a part of the measurement object, into internal space data ^Bin and external space data ^Bout. Here, since each of the plurality of sensor units 300 has a magnetic concentrator, the magnetic sensitivity of the sensor unit 300 can be increased, and the spatial sampling points can be clarified, thereby further increasing the affinity with the signal spatial separation technology.

[0088] FIG. 13 shows an example of a flow in which the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to this embodiment removes remaining interference components from the internal space data ^Bin that has been subjected to signal space separation.

[0089] In step 1310, the magnetic field measuring device 10 acquires the magnetic field measurement data B, the internal space data ^Bin, and the external space data ^Bout as time-series data. For example, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 acquires the magnetic field measurement data B acquired by the signal space separation unit 1160 in step 1220, and the internal space data ^Bin and the external space data ^Bout signal-separated in step 1240 from the signal space separation unit 1160 in time series. That is, the internal space data ^Bin and the external space data ^Bout are calculated from the magnetic field measurement data B at each time t1, t2, . . . tn, and acquired as B=[B(t1) B(t2) . . . B(tn)]. Here, the magnetic field measurement data B, the internal space data ^Bin, and the external space data ^Bout are each a matrix whose vertical direction corresponds to each magnetic sensor cell and whose horizontal direction corresponds to each time.

[0090] Here, the acquired data can be defined as follows. That is, the magnetic field measurement data B may include the measurement target magnetic field Bin generated in the internal space, the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate generated in the intermediate space, and the external space magnetic field Bout generated in the external space. The internal space data ^Bin may include the measurement target magnetic field Bin, a component caused by the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate, and a component caused by the external space magnetic field Bout. Here, α indicates a coefficient, and ε indicates the magnitude of the sensor error of the magnetic sensor 520. The external space data ^Bout may include a component included in the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate, and the external space magnetic field Bout.

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[0091] In step 1320, the magnetic field measurement device 10 calculates the basis C of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain of the external space data ^Bout. For example, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 calculates the basis C of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain of the external space data ^Bout by singular value decomposition of the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout, respectively. More specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 calculates the basis C and the basis Cout by the following formula. That is, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 divides the transposed matrix of the magnetic field measurement data B in a certain time domain by the Frobenius norm to normalize it, and applies singular value decomposition. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 calculates the left singular vector U after singular value decomposition as the basis C of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data B. Similarly, the calculation processing unit 1170 divides the transposed matrix of the external space data ^Bout in a certain time domain by the Frobenius norm to normalize it, and applies singular value decomposition. Then, the calculation processing unit 1170 calculates the left singular vector Uout after the singular value decomposition as the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout.

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[0092] In step 1330, the magnetic field measuring device 10 calculates the correlation coefficient between the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout based on a method based on principal component analysis or the like. For example, the calculation processing unit 1170 performs singular value decomposition on the covariance of the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout, and calculates the correlation coefficient based on the magnitude of the singular value. In such a correlation coefficient, the part corresponding to the time change common to the basis C and the basis Cout becomes close to 1 (strong correlation), and random noise, etc. becomes close to 0 (uncorrelated).

[0093] In step 1340, the magnetic field measuring device 10 extracts a fluctuating component common to the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout as a common part P. For example, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 extracts a part where the correlation coefficient exceeds a predetermined threshold L as the common part. In this way, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 extracts the common fluctuating component based on the strength of the correlation between the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout. Note that if the threshold L is set too high, disturbances cannot be removed, and if it is set too low, even the cardiac magnetism signal to be measured is removed, so it is preferable to set the threshold L to an appropriate value.

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[0094] In this way, the calculation processing unit 1170 extracts the common fluctuation components by performing principal component analysis on the basis C of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data B and the basis Cout of the time domain in the external space data ^Bout. However, this is not limited to this. The calculation processing unit 1170 may extract the common fluctuation components by a different method, such as independent component analysis, instead of the principal component analysis.

[0095] In step 1350, the magnetic field measuring device 10 removes the common fluctuation component from the internal space data ^Bin. For example, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 removes at least a part of the fluctuation component common to the magnetic field measurement data B indicating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data and the external space data ^Bout from the internal space data ^Bin. More specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 removes the common fluctuation component by the following equation. That is, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 removes the common part P from the internal space data ^Bin by calculation using the SSP (Signal Space Projection) method. In the following equation, tSSS is an abbreviation of spatio-Temporal Signal Space Separation, and ^Bin_tSSS indicates the internal space data after the common fluctuation component is removed by this flow.

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[0096] Fig. 14 shows a simulation result of the magnetic field measurement data B according to this embodiment. In carrying out this simulation, a magnetic sensor array 210 is used in which 8 x 8 x 2 = 128 magnetic sensor cells 220 are arranged three-dimensionally to form a surface covering at least a part of the measurement object as shown in Fig. 9. Then, interference magnetic fields of Bx = 100 pT, By = 200 pT, and Bz = 300 pT are input to such a magnetic sensor array 210 from an infinite distance that is completely outside space. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the magnitude of the magnetic field measurement data.

[0097] FIG. 15 shows the simulation results of the internal space data ^Bin before removing the common fluctuation component according to this embodiment. In carrying out this simulation, the sensor error ε=1%, and the signal space separation is performed under the conditions of Lin=6 and Lout=3. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the magnitude of the internal space data ^Bin before removing the common fluctuation component. As shown in this figure, it can be seen that the internal space data ^Bin contains residual interference magnetic fields input from the external space. Such interference magnetic fields become larger in proportion to the magnitude of the sensor error ε.

[0098] FIG. 16 shows a simulation result of the internal space data ^Bin_tSSS after removing the common fluctuation component according to this embodiment. In carrying out this simulation, the common fluctuation component is removed from the internal space data ^Bin by tSSS in the time range of 0s to 1s with a threshold value L=0.99. The sensor error ε is set to 1%, similar to the simulation in FIG. 15. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the magnitude of the internal space data ^Bin_tSSS after removing the common fluctuation component. As shown in this figure, it can be seen that the interference magnetic field from the external space remaining due to the sensor error can be removed by tSSS.

[0099] As described above, when performing the signal space separation process, if the magnetic sensor has a sensor error in sensitivity or position, the disturbance removal performance is reduced, and even an interference magnetic field from the external space may not be accurately separated and remain. Such a remaining interference magnetic field may become more noticeable when the magnetic sensor has a magnetoresistance element, and further when the magnetic sensor has a magnetic concentrator, due to an increase in sensor error based on the manufacturing error or mounting error. In contrast, the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment removes at least a part of the fluctuation component common to the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout from the internal space data ^Bin. As a result, the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment can improve the disturbance removal performance and more accurately remove the interference magnetic field remaining due to the sensor error. Here, in extracting the common fluctuation component, it is also possible to compare the internal space data ^Bin and the external space data ^Bout and extract the fluctuation component common to both. However, in this case, although the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate can be extracted roughly accurately, the external space magnetic field Bout cannot be extracted accurately because the sensor error ε is small. In contrast, according to the magnetic field measuring device 10 of the present embodiment, the magnetic field measuring data B before signal space separation is compared with the external space data ^Bout instead of the internal space data ^Bin to extract common fluctuation components, so that in addition to the intermediate space magnetic field Bintermediate, the external space magnetic field Bout can also be accurately extracted. Therefore, according to the magnetic field measuring device 10 of the present embodiment, the performance of removing the interference magnetic field can be further improved.

[0100] Here, in the above description, a case where the magnetic field measuring device 10 removes at least a part of the fluctuating components common to the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout from the internal space data ^Bin has been shown as an example. However, this is not limited to this. In the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the modified example, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 may remove at least a part of the fluctuating components common to the data obtained by subtracting the internal space data ^Bin from the magnetic field measurement data B and the external space data ^Bout from the internal space data ^Bin. That is, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 may extract a fluctuating component common to the time domain basis C' in the data obtained by subtracting the internal space data ^Bin from the magnetic field measurement data B and the time domain basis Cout in the external space data ^Bout as a common part P. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 1170 may remove the common part P extracted in this way from the internal space data ^Bin by calculation, for example, using the SSP method.

[0101] The magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment can simultaneously perform the actual measurement of the magnetic field to be measured, and the SSS processing and the tSSS processing. That is, the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment can simultaneously perform the measurement of the magnetocardiogram, the SSS processing and the tSSS processing, in a state in which the magnetic sensor array 210 is arranged so that the heart of the measurement subject, which is the measurement object, exists in the internal space. As a result, according to the magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to perform the SSS processing and the tSSS processing at a timing different from the measurement of the magnetocardiogram, and the processing can be simplified. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. The magnetic field measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment may perform the SSS processing and the tSSS processing in advance in a state in which the heart of the measurement subject, which is the measurement object, does not exist in the internal space, and then perform the measurement of the magnetocardiogram by arranging the magnetic sensor array 210 so that the heart of the measurement subject, which is the measurement object, exists in the internal space, and remove the common fluctuation component by the SSP processing.

[0102] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flow charts and block diagrams, where the blocks may represent (1) stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) sections of an apparatus responsible for performing the operations. Particular stages and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium, and / or a processor provided with computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. Dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuitry and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuitry including logical AND, logical OR, logical XOR, logical NAND, logical NOR, and other logical operations, memory elements such as flip-flops, registers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like.

[0103] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by a suitable device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture that includes instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, and the like. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or flash memories), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), Blu-ray (RTM) disks, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, and the like.

[0104] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0105] Computer readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuitry of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, either locally or over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, etc., to execute the computer readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0106] 17 illustrates an example of a computer 9900 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. Programs installed on the computer 9900 may cause the computer 9900 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus or one or more sections of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by the CPU 9912 to cause the computer 9900 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0107] The computer 9900 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 9912, a RAM 9914, a graphic controller 9916, and a display device 9918, which are connected to each other by a host controller 9910. The computer 9900 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 9922, a hard disk drive 9924, a DVD-ROM drive 9926, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 9910 via an input / output controller 9920. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 9930 and a keyboard 9942, which are connected to the input / output controller 9920 via an input / output chip 9940.

[0108] The CPU 9912 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 9930 and the RAM 9914, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller 9916 retrieves image data generated by the CPU 9912 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 9914 or into itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 9918.

[0109] The communication interface 9922 communicates with other electronic devices over a network. The hard disk drive 9924 stores programs and data used by the CPU 9912 in the computer 9900. The DVD-ROM drive 9926 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 9901 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 9924 via the RAM 9914. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0110] The ROM 9930 stores therein a boot program or the like executed by the computer 9900 upon activation, and / or a program that depends on the hardware of the computer 9900. The input / output chip 9940 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 9920 via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, etc.

[0111] The programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 9901 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable medium, installed in the hard disk drive 9924, the RAM 9914, or the ROM 9930, which are also examples of computer-readable media, and executed by the CPU 9912. Information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 9900, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be constructed by implementing information manipulation or processing according to the use of the computer 9900.

[0112] For example, when communication is performed between the computer 9900 and an external device, the CPU 9912 may execute a communication program loaded in the RAM 9914 and instruct the communication interface 9922 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 9912, the communication interface 9922 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer processing area provided in the RAM 9914, the hard disk drive 9924, the DVD-ROM 9901, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes reception data received from the network to a reception buffer processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0113] The CPU 9912 may also cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored in an external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 9924, the DVD-ROM drive 9926 (DVD-ROM 9901), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 9914, and perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 9914. The CPU 9912 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0114] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored in the recording medium and undergo information processing. The CPU 9912 may perform various types of processing on the data read from the RAM 9914, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequence of the program, and write back the results to the RAM 9914. The CPU 9912 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. in the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 9912 may search for an entry that matches a condition, in which an attribute value of the first attribute is specified, from among the plurality of entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0115] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable medium on the computer 9900 or in the vicinity of the computer 9900. In addition, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 9900 via the network.

[0116] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the description of the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0117] It should be noted that the order of execution of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and may be realized in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is explained using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it is essential to perform the process in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 10 Magnetic field measurement device 100 Main body 110 Magnetic sensor unit 120 Head 125 Drive unit 130 Base 140 Pole section 150 Information Processing Section 210 Magnetic Sensor Array 220 Magnetic Sensor Cell 230 Sensor Data Collection Unit 300 Sensor section 520 Magnetic Sensor 530 Magnetic field generation section 532 Amplification circuit 534 Coil 540 Output section 702 Magnetoresistance element 704, 706 Magnetic concentrator 1100 Sensor data processing unit 1110 Analog-to-Digital Converter 1112 Clock Generator 1120 Magnetic field acquisition section 1130 Calibration calculation unit 1140 Data output section 1150 Basis Vector Storage Unit 1160 Signal Space Separation Unit 1170 Processing Unit 9900 Computer 9901 DVD-ROM 9910 Host Controller 9912 CPU 9914 RAM 9916 Graphics Controller 9918 Display Device 9920 Input / Output Controller 9922 Communication Interface 9924 Hard Disk Drive 9926 DVD-ROM drive 9930 ROM 9940 Input / Output Chip 9942 Keyboard

Claims

1. a magnetic sensor array including a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each having a magnetic sensor; a magnetic field acquisition unit that acquires measurement data measured by the magnetic sensor array; a signal space separation unit that separates the spatial distribution of the magnetic field represented by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data based on the positions and magnetic sensitivities of the magnetic sensors; a calculation processing unit that removes, from the internal space data, at least a part of a fluctuation component common to the external space data and magnetic field measurement data indicating a spatial distribution of a magnetic field indicated by the measurement data; Equipped with The arithmetic processing unit is calculating a basis of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data and a basis of the time domain of the external space data by performing singular value decomposition on the magnetic field measurement data and the external space data, respectively; The common fluctuation component is extracted based on a correlation between a time domain basis of the magnetic field measurement data and a time domain basis of the external space data. Magnetic field measuring device.

2. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculation processing unit extracts the common fluctuation component by performing principal component analysis on a basis of the time domain in the magnetic field measurement data and a basis of the time domain in the external space data.

3. 3. The magnetic field measuring device of claim 2, wherein the calculation processing unit calculates the correlation coefficient by singular value decomposition of a covariance of a time domain basis in the magnetic field measurement data and a time domain basis in the external space data, and extracts a component for which the correlation coefficient exceeds a predetermined threshold as the common fluctuation component.

4. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 3 , wherein the magnetic sensor includes a magnetoresistance element.

5. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 4 , wherein the magnetic sensor further comprises magnetic concentrators disposed at both one end and the other end of the magnetoresistive element.

6. A magnetic field measuring device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the multiple magnetic sensor cells further has a magnetic field generating unit that generates a feedback magnetic field that reduces the input magnetic field detected by the magnetic sensor, and an output unit that outputs an output signal corresponding to a feedback current that the magnetic field generating unit flows to generate the feedback magnetic field.

7. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the signal space separation unit separates signals from the spatial distribution of the magnetic field based on basis vectors calculated from an orthonormal function, the position, and the magnetic sensitivity.

8. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 7 , wherein the signal space separating section performs series expansion of the basis vectors to separate the spatial distribution of the magnetic field into signals.

9. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 8 , wherein the signal space separating unit calculates the expansion coefficients of the basis vectors by a least squares method.

10. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 7 , wherein the orthonormal function is expressed by a spherical harmonic function.

11. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 1 , further comprising a calibration calculation unit that calibrates the measurement data acquired by the magnetic field acquisition unit.

12. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic sensor array is configured by arranging the plurality of magnetic sensor cells so as to form a surface covering at least a part of the object to be measured.

13. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 12 , wherein in the magnetic sensor array, the plurality of magnetic sensor cells are arranged three-dimensionally so as to be located at lattice points between two curved surfaces curved in one direction.

14. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 13 , wherein the curved surface is formed in a substantially parabolic shape.

15. The magnetic field measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculation processing unit removes from the internal space data at least a portion of the fluctuation components common to the data obtained by subtracting the internal space data from the magnetic field measurement data and the external space data.

16. Acquiring measurement data measured by a magnetic sensor array configured with a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each having a magnetic sensor; Separating the spatial distribution of the magnetic field represented by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data based on the positions and magnetic sensitivities of the magnetic sensors; removing at least a portion of a fluctuation component common to the magnetic field measurement data indicating a spatial distribution of the magnetic field indicated by the measurement data and the external space data from the internal space data; A magnetic field measuring method comprising: The magnetic field measuring method includes: calculating a basis of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data and a basis of the time domain of the external space data by performing singular value decomposition on the magnetic field measurement data and the external space data, respectively; and extracting the common fluctuation component based on a correlation between a time domain basis of the magnetic field measurement data and a time domain basis of the external space data. Magnetic field measurement methods.

17. When executed by a computer, the computer is a magnetic field acquisition unit that acquires measurement data measured by a magnetic sensor array configured with a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each having a magnetic sensor; a signal space separation unit that separates the spatial distribution of the magnetic field represented by the measurement data into internal space data and external space data based on the positions and magnetic sensitivities of the magnetic sensors; a calculation processing unit that removes, from the internal space data, at least a part of a fluctuation component common to the external space data and magnetic field measurement data indicating a spatial distribution of a magnetic field indicated by the measurement data; and make it work. The arithmetic processing unit is calculating a basis of the time domain of the magnetic field measurement data and a basis of the time domain of the external space data by performing singular value decomposition on the magnetic field measurement data and the external space data, respectively; The common fluctuation component is extracted based on a correlation between a time domain basis of the magnetic field measurement data and a time domain basis of the external space data. Magnetic field measurement program.

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