A system to induce hyperthermia in a selected portion of the body utilizes permanent magnets mounted on a variable speed motor. A conductive button is positioned at a location proximate the target tissue to be heated, such as a tumor. The magnetic rotor assembly is positioned at a selected distance from the conductive button and rotated at a desired frequency to produce a changing permanent magnetic field that induces an eddy current on the surface of the conductive button. A temperature sensor may be positioned near the conductive button as a feedback mechanism to a control circuit. At higher magnetic polarity frequencies, the conductive button may be implemented in the form of metallic nanoparticles. In this embodiment, the nanoparticles may include molecular elements that selectively bind with the target tissue and thereby accumulate at the target tissue prior to the introduction of the rotating magnetic field.