(Yicai) Nov. 24 -- Chinese researchers are developing quantum measurement technologies which can detect tiny changes in the body’s magnetic fields, aiming to spot early signs of heart disease that conventional electrocardiograms, which are the most widely used screening tool, can struggle to identify, especially subtle conditions such as structural heart disease.

Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, together with representatives from a number of medical institutions and medical device manufacturers, gathered at the recent 2025 Quantum Technology and Industry Conference, to discuss cutting-edge ways to combine quantum precision measurement with medical diagnostics.

“Biological organs and their functions are ultimately based on the electrophysiological activities of cells, which generate extremely weak magnetic fields,” Xie Xiaoming, a researcher at SIMIT, said at the event, which was held from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22 in Hefei, eastern Anhui province. “For example, the magnetic signals from the heart are only one-billionth of the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. In the past, detecting these signals was almost impossible, until the advent of Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices.”

Xie and his team have spent 20 years developing a full suite of superconducting biomagnetism technologies, including magnetocardiography and magnetoencephalography systems. These technologies are now close to commercialization, and the team is actively promoting their application in the biomedical field.

Some biomagnetic devices have already received regulatory approval in China and are undergoing post-market clinical trials in several major Grade A tertiary hospitals, Yicai learned. They are being tested for use in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial ischemia and heart failure. Pricing details have not yet been disclosed.

“The limitations of ECGs in reflecting clinical information are becoming more and more obvious,” said Ma Jian, an associate chief physician in the department of cardiology at the Sixth People’s Hospital affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. “Many cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary microvascular disease, can no longer be reliably diagnosed using ECGs alone. Therefore, we urgently need breakthroughs in new technologies.”

However, due to the high cost and operational complexity of biomagnetic technology, its use in routine clinical examinations is not yet practical. But experts say that in the future, as high-temperature superconductors advance and quantum sensor costs fall, magnetocardiography devices should become easier to mass produce and much cheaper, paving the way for wider application in clinical settings.

“There are 330 million people with cardiovascular diseases in China, including more than 10 million with coronary heart disease,” said Zhang Shulin, another researcher at SIMIT. “Behind these numbers lies a potential market worth hundreds of billions of yuan, equivalent to tens of billions of US dollars.”

Editor: Kim Taylor