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BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY. SOME APPLICATIONS
OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN MEDICINE (I)

Article November 2014

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 BULETINUL INSTITUTULUI POLITEHNIC DIN IAI
Publicat de
Universitatea Tehnic Gheorghe Asachi din Iai
Tomul LX (LXIV), Fasc. 4, 2014
Secia
MATEMATIC. MECANIC TEORETIC. FIZIC

BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND SUPERCONDUCTIVITY. SOME

APPLICATIONS OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN MEDICINE (I)
BY

BOGDAN DOROFTEI1, IRINA GAU2 and VLAD GHIZDOV2

1
Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iai,
Obstretics and Gynecology Department
2
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iai,
Faculty of Physics

Received: October 30, 2014

Accepted for publication: November 27, 2014

Abstract. Some fundamentals on the superconductivity state

(superconductivity mechanisms, basic theory, other theories that can be put in
correspondence with superconductivity etc.) and correlations with the medicine
field (biomagnetic sensors and superconducting magnets) are presented.
Key words: superconductivity biological state; superconducting parameters;
holon; spinon.

1. Generalities on the Superconductivity State

Research on superconducting materials focused on identifying the

mechanism responsible for high-Tc. Determining whether the mechanism
involved pairing via direct excitations, or a totally new mechanism exists, is a
fundamental issue. The proposed new mechanisms consist of excitations such
as: bipolarons, excitons, spin-fluctuations, anyons (holons and spinons),
frustrations etc. With very few exceptions, all models invoking any of the above
mechanism are based on a low dimensional (1 or 2) electron (or hole) system.

Corresponding author; e-mail: bogdandoroftei@gmail.com

106 Bogdan Doroftei et al.

Let us take for example, the anyons mechanism. Only in a two dimensional
space quasi-particles can obey quantum statistics which is neither fermionic nor
bosonic. Such quasiparticles (anyons) are said to obey fractional statistics.
The fractional statistics obeyed by anyons has the capacity to cause
superconductivity. Unlike the pairing forces in an ordinary superconductor,
which are by the most measures weak and have no effect unless they are
sufficiently strong to overcome Coulomb repulsion, the gauge forces which
fractional statistics correspond are strong and lead to charge-2 superfluidity
under very general circumstances.
Superconductivity is an exclusive property of two-dimensional system
(Burns, 1992; Poole et al., 1995). In the attempt to build a new coherent theory
of high temperature superconductors, Anderson (1987) identified a
superconductor with the Mott insulator, a material with a narrow energy band in
which the electron motion differs drastically from that predicted by band theory
and is subjected to fractional statistics. Since FQHE (Fractional Quantum Hall
Effect) is subjected to the same statistics, Laughlin (1983) was one of the first
scientists who tried to extend the FQHE theory to high temperature
superconductors and Jain (1992) assumed that the appearance of composite
fermions does not have to be related by all means with low temperatures and
strong magnetic fields.
Manka and Lenkowska-Czerwinska discussed in (Wilczek, 1990) a
simple phonon generalization of the t-J model, which seems to be the promising
model of Cu-O plane physics in HTS, in (2+1) dimensions, and leads to the
Spin-Peierls phase transition. Also, they developed the slave boson and slave
fermion operators approach, where the electron excitation decomposed into a
charged, spinless boson (holon), and the chargeless, spin fermion (spinon)
obeying some commutation rules. This decomposition leads to different gauge
symmetries. The first one is connected to electrical charge conservation, while
the second one is connectd to the Mott insulator. In the mean field approach the
spinon condensation can take place giving the RVB phase. In the RVB phase
we have effectively a superfluid composed of chargeless fermion Copper pairs
(Wilczek, 1990).
At this time, all of the above mentioned results may be summarized as
follows: i) the electron excitation in two dimension, under strong repulsive
forces gives rise to composite fermions, which are quasiparticles obeying
fractional statistics (anyons); ii) this decomposition is not necessarily related to
external strong magnetic fields or very low temperatures-as is the case in
FQHE; iii) the bosons (holons) being connected to the electrical charge
conservation, one can have effectively a superfluid composed of chargeless
fermion Copper pairs.
On the other hand, the idea that the quantum space-time of
microphysics is fractal, rather than flat and Minkowskian as assumed up to now,
was suggested in (Nottale & Schneider, 1984; Ord, 1983). This proposal was
 Bul. Inst. Polit. Iai, t. LX (LXIV), f. 4, 2014 107

itself based on earlier results (Feynmann & Hibbs, 1965; Abbott & Wise, 1981),
obtained at first by Feynman (see in particular (Schweber, 1986) and references
therein), concerning the geometrical structure of quantum paths. These studies
have shown that the typical trajectories of quantum mechanical particles are
continuous but non-differentiable, and can be characterized by a fractal
dimension which jumps from DF = 1 at large length-scales to DF = 2 at small
length-scales, the transition occuring about the de Broglie scale (Nottale, 1989;
Nottale, 1993).
Now such a fractal dimension DF = 2 plays a particular role in physics.
It is well-known that this is the fractal dimension of Brownian motion
(Mandelbrot, 1982; Mandelbrot, 1988), i.e. from the mathematical view-point,
of a Markov-Wiener process. This remark leads us to recall a related attempt at
understanding the quantum behaviour, namely, Nelsons stochastic quantum
mechanics (Mandelbrot, 1975; Nelson, 1966). In this approach, it is assumed
that any particle is subjected to an underlying Brownian motion of unknown
origin, which is described by two (forward and backward) Wiener processes:
when combined together they yield the complex nature of the wave function and
they transform Newtons equation of dynamics into the Schrdinger equation.
This is precisely one of the aims of the fractal space-time theory, and
particularly of the Scale Relativity Theory (SRT), to relate the fractal and
stochastic approaches (Nottale & Schneider, 1984; Nelson, 1985; Nottale, 1989;
Nottale, 1993): the hypothesis that the space-time is non-differentiable and
fractal implies that there are an infinity of geodesics between any couple of
points (Nottale, 1989) and provides us with a fundamental and universal origin
for the double Wiener process of Nelson (Nottale, 1993). SRT is a new
approach to understand quantum mechanics, and moreover physical domains
involving scale laws, such as chaotic systems. It is based on a generalization of
Einsteins principle of relativity to scale transformations. Namely, one redefines
space-time resolutions as characterizing the state of scale of reference systems,
in the same way as speed characterizes their state of motion. Then one requires
that the laws of physics apply whatever the state of the reference system, of
motion (principle of motion-relativity) and of scale (principle of SRT). The
principle of SRT is mathematically achieved by the principle of scale-
covariance, requiring that the equations of physics keep their simplest form
under transformations of resolution. In such conjecture, it was demonstrated
that, in the fractal dimension DF = 2, the geodesics of the space-time are given
by a Schrdingers type equation (Nottale, 1993; Nelson, 1985).
More recently, some superconducting properties have been explained
by considering the charge carriers (electrons, holes etc. (Burns, 1992; Poole et
al., 1995) are quantized vortex-like objects, ordered in two vortex streets having
antiparallel vortices (Nottale, 1996). The interaction between these vortex-like
objects is mediated by a sub-quantum level with superfluid properties. For
superconducting matter the status of such a medium is imposed by the
108 Bogdan Doroftei et al.

hydrodynamic formulation of the scale relativity theory (SRT) (Agop et al.,

2005; Agop et al., 2003), a unique mechanism inducing superconductivity, by
means of a fractal string (a string in a fractal space-time).
Following this, we present some applications of superconductivity in
the field of medicine.

2. Biomagnetic Measurements

One of the major achievements of superconduction is the SQUID

magnetometer. SQUID is an acronym for Superconducting Quantum
Interference Device. This measurement device is capable of measuring
magnetic elds in the order of femto tesla and this makes it one of the most
sensitive magnetic measurement devices known today. The human body
generates extremely small magnetic elds but the measurement of these elds is
of great value in medicine. The main device for measuring these elds is the
SQUID magnetometer. There are a number of applications of SQUID in
medicine, but all of them can be divided into magnetoencephalanography,
magnetocardiography and other biomagnetic applications.
If two superconductors are separated by a weak link they form a
Josephson junction. A SQUID magnetometer consists of one or two of these
junctions in a superconducting loop. To keep the inductance low the size of
SQUID loop should be a small as possible, although in order to have a small
sensor loop, a very sensitive pickup loop is needed. This loop usually couples
inductively with the SQUID loop although some high temperature
superconductors use a directly coupled pickup loop. Together with the sensor
some readout electronics is also needed. There are various readout schemes
but the most commonly used one is either a uxed locked loop or a current
locked loop.

3. Superconducting Magnets

Because of the high current carrying capability, superconductors are

frequently used to generate high magnetic elds, specically in the eld of MRI,
where superconducting magnets have long been used (Burgoyne et al., 2000).
Advances in the field of cryo free magnets enabled low temperature
superconductors to be used without the need of liquid helium, by using low
temperature cryo coolers. Using these high intensity magnets a new imaging
technology has been developed based on the Hall Effect. An ultrasound beam is
used to create vibrations in the tissue sample. This takes place in a strong magnetic
eld which causes opposite charges in the tissue to diverge and lead to a Hall
voltage, which is picked up by electrodes. It can also be accomplished the other
way around, using a pulsed current through the electrodes in a strong magnetic
eld to generate an acoustic wave that is picked up by an ultrasound detector.
 Bul. Inst. Polit. Iai, t. LX (LXIV), f. 4, 2014 109

Supermagnets are also used in magnetic surgery, where a small magnetic

tip is attached to a catheter or guide wire and steered through the body by rapid
adjustments to strong magnetic elds (5T). This enables the surgeon to steer
around very sensitive structures to the part that needs to be operated instead of
taking the straight line approach. It is possible to measure the position of the tip
with an accuracy of 1mm and a real time X-ray image in two dimensions is used
for control. It is also used to guide magnetized pellets in the brain, for instance, to
directly deliver drugs to deep brain tissues (McNeil et al., 1995).

4. Conclusions

In the present paper some fundamentals regarding the superconductivity

state were presented, along with the most important applications of
superconductors in the field of medicine.

Acknowledgements. This paper was supported by the research project

Infertility - three pieces puzzle: Investigation of the couple, Infertility Diagnostic,
Possible Therapy - I3IDT (Origyn Fertility Center) - cofinanced by POS CCE, O233.

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SISTEME BIOLOGICE I SUPRACONDUCTIBILITATE. CTEVA APLICAII

ALE SUPRACONDUCTIBILITII N MEDICIN (I)

(Rezumat)

Sunt prezentate noiunile fundamentale implicate de proprietatea de

supraconductibilitate a materiei (mecanismele ce induc supraconductibilitatea, teorii
fundamentale, alte teorii care pot fi puse n coresponden cu supraconductibilitatea
etc.) i sunt detaliate cteva aplicaii ale supraconductibilitii n medicin (senzori
biomagnetici, rezonan magnetic nuclear).

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