In this masters thesis first the theoretical principles of a fluxgate magnetometer are explained. After that, in the next chapter the measurement capabilities and characteristics are presented and the applications that arise from those characteristics, with special emphasis on the possibility of biomedical applications, which are presented at a later chapter. In the next chapter the basics of the gradiometer system are explained, with explanation of key factors which determine it’s functionality. The next chapter is dedicated to detailed description of the first order fluxgate gradiometer system made as a part of this masters thesis. It brings detailed descriptions od every segment of the system, as well as descriptions of each component within the segment and interactions between segments and components. After this comes the aforementioned description of potential biomedical applications (especially magnetocardiography), which is followed by a chapter that brings details on the measuring capabilities of the prototype and comments on the measurement results with the analysis of possible ways of improving the design. In the end, the thesis is concluded by a conclusion which sums up the thesis and states the most important information from the thesis.