Patent US 8,929,970

A method of measurement of or mapping the distribution of complex permittivity, complex conductivity, complex impedance, or electric loss angle during magnetic resonance imaging or analysis. The method includes applying a time-varying electric field of a Faraday shield to a sample and cross-correlating the line spectrum signal so produced with the voltage applied to the Faraday shield in a detection circuit. The method permits non-contrast magnetic resonance screening for breast cancer in vivo and/or continuous measurement of electrical characteristics of materials at variable frequencies in vitro. A system of detecting and evaluating sample pathology includes a Faraday shield device that includes parallel electrodes oriented orthogonal to the static magnetic field of a MRI device to produce a time varying electric field. A detector is coupled to the MRI device to detect at least one of a complex permittivity, a complex conductivity, and an electrical impedance of the sample.