Application of ferrite to medical X-ray diagnosis

A series of tests of ferrites serving as the contrast materials for the X-ray diagnosis of the digestive organs were carried out. Tests as conducted covered the solubility of ferrites in both the artificial gastric juice and the intestinal juice, the toxicity, the X-ray absorption, and the magnetic field strength required for controlling the ferrite powders, as well as the applicability to actual diagnosis. Magnanese zinc ferrite powders sintered at temperatures as high as 1200°C or more were verified to exhibit performance good enough to be applied to the practical X-ray diagnosis of the digestive organs as the contrast material. It was also found that those mangnese zinc ferrites which contain oxides of such materials as Ba, W, or Ce in 5 through 10 weight percents possess the X-ray absorption rates nearly equal to those of barium sulfates. The experimental tests on animals indicated that ferrite powders will be available for the X-ray diagnosis of the bronchus, the liver, the pancreas, and the small vessels.