Biomagnetometer having flexible sensor

A biomagnetometer, comprising:

• a plurality of pickup units, each pickup unit comprising
• a magnetic field sensor unit, the sensor unit including a magnetic field pickup coil made of a material having a superconducting transition temperature,
• vessel means for containing the magnetic field sensor unit, the vessel means including a contact face adapted for contacting to a subject whose biomagnetism is to be measured, with the magnetic field sensor unit mounted in the interior of the vessel means adjacent to the contact face, and
• insulation means at the contact face of the vessel means for preventing excessive heat flow through the contact face,
• means for mechanically interconnecting the plurality of pickup units to form a flexible array that is conformable to the shape of a body of a subject, the means for mechanically interconnecting permitting the plurality of pickup units to flex relative to each other;
• and
• detector means for receiving an output signal of the pickup coil and for measuring the magnitude of magnetic fields sensed by the sensor units.