Non-invasive monitoring of ionic current flow during development by SQUID magnetometry

A distributed quasi-static ionic current source in the 3-4 day old chicken embryo

We report measurements of slowly varying magnetic field patterns close to fertilized eggs of the chicken Gallus domesticus during the first few days of incubation. These fields are generated by ionic currents within the egg that are associated with the development of the embryo. Since they are very weak (no greater than tens of pT) and vary over distances of a few millimetres, it has been necessary to develop specialized instrumentation and analysis techniques. We describe the use of high-spatial-resolution SQUID magnetometers to measure the field patterns and appropriate imaging algorithms to model the current sources responsible for producing the fields. Our results provide strong evidence for a distributed source in the extra-embryonic membranes. There is also indication of a more localized source within the embryo itself.