The Beginning of Biomagnetism and Magnetoencephalography Research in Finland in the 1970s

This chapter describes the first 10 years of biomagnetism research at the Helsinki University of Technology, beginning in 1972. The review emphasizes both the technical development and the search for biomedical applications of the new method. The focus of applications presented here is on head and brain research. During the first years of the studies, the author and his associates were the only active superconducting quantum-interference device (SQUID) biomagnetism research group in Europe, and until about 1980 the only group involved in magnetoencephalography studies in Finland.