Fast method of locating metallic foreign body in the human body

Metallic foreign body penetration remains a common clinical problem, which always leads to more suffering of patients and difficulties of doctors´ management. Considering the drawbacks and limitations of traditional radiological detection, we present a fast method in this paper based on gradient measurement of cheap fluxgate sensors. A theoretical model for locating ferromagnetic and nonferromagnetic metal was elaborated and experimentally validated. A non-magnetic steel skeleton bound with metglas ribbons was chosen and digital signal processor was utilized to design magnetic exciting and signal processing algorithm, which provided a better fluxgate performance. A good symmetric configuration between the two sensors has been demonstrated through the calibration experiment, which lays the foundation for further animal and clinical experiment..