The meissner effect accompanies superconductivity, it is different than ordinary levitation. The meissner effect actually Excludes magnetic fields The video (link) has a graphic suggesting the fields "blob" at the sides, basically making a kind of magnetic lens. Whether you create a magnetic lens or just a screen with the meissner effect its possible to create regular angled polygonal patterns at a magnetic field.
so a cooled ping pong paddle sized meissner magnetic lens or screen would between the MRI machine and the persons body. Kind of like a moveable desk lamp.
Use these spiffy regular magnetic polygons to improve MRI as well as fMRI imaging, using them as a reference pattern to do better digital image processing.
A similar idea using lasers is an actual technology. Satellites view a laser produced image on the ground, permitting software to discern other features more clearly. The algorithms use the known reference image to remove atmospheric swirling optical effects. If I remember accurately this known pattern algorithmic image enhancement doubles or triples imaging resolution.
Thus using the meissner effect to create a reference image could improve MRI as well as fMRI (which describes brain activation on various events) resolution strongly.
Of course using a meissner effect screen suggests the possibility of very high intensity narrowly shaped fields ("beamlike") which could be used from area specific TMS to activating magnetic drugs at particular brain areas.
lets bring magnetically activated drugs to specific brain areas so they are activated with this narrow field technology, we could try out high concentrations of neurotransmitters at specific brain areas to describe or enhance function, or deliver drugs to tumors.
Magnetically activated drugs could be anything from re angle able bismuth ferrocenes(link), to erythrocyte ghosts full of magnetic particles with drugs that release particles at specific field strengths, to pharmaceutically active peptides linked to diamagnetic atoms like bismuth that would rapidly change the (possibly branched) peptide shape to active at a magnetic field
(Bi)\/\/^^^\/\(Bi) - -- MagZap-- -> (Bi)-------^^^-------(Bi)
I think diamagnetically activated chalcones or lactones might work as well, something like bismuth groups on the cyclic part would move, opening the molecule, which would then reposition pharmaceutically active groups to be more receptor active. basically magnetic zubbles.-- beanangel, Aug 30 2012 A university video featuring Meissner effect http://www.youtube....SpYPL0&feature=plcpThe image showing meissner lensing is at 2:07 [beanangel, Aug 30 2012] An image of ferrocene with bismuth that changes shape with magnetism to make active pharmaceutical groups active http://www.longecit...ly-activated-drugs/ [beanangel, Aug 30 2012] It would be easy to dismiss this idea out of hand without taking the trouble to read it fully, so that's where I'll start.
If you want to move things around with a magnetic field, bear in mind that things respond to a field gradient rather than an absolute field. Very small things have very small magnetic moments (magnetic instants, in fact), meaning that you need a very large field gradient to move them.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 30 2012 Is this the right time to point out that the Meissner field-exclusion effect only operates on superconductors, and therefore the molecules in question would have to be cooled to around 100K or lower ?
How this is achieved in a homiothermic mammal without causing quite bad shivering is not described.
The benefits of immersing even quite ill people in liquid Nitrogen remain unproven.
We suggest that the best plan is to start by dipping cats in liquid Nitrogen. Once the technique is perfected, then it can be piloted on Geography teachers before phase-one trials in humans.-- 8th of 7, Aug 30 2012 well Im visualizing an ordinary MRI machine, these sometimes have half a foot or more gap space between the person n the machine surface
Then there is a rather flat ping pong paddle like superconductive screen with circulating liquid N dewar right near the persons body. It seems plausible that this being ping pong paddle size, it can rest easily as well as comfortably next to the persons actual body. kind of like a moveable desk lamp.
The regularized magnetic polygons at a few centimeters of tissue depth are then used to improve image processing
I appreciate the annotation, I thought the idea that this was kind of like an optical element between MRI n body sort of suggested the rest.-- beanangel, Aug 30 2012 random, halfbakery