First-ever Economically Cheaper Brain Imaging Tool Offers High Accuracy

Ultra-precise brain imaging tool has been developed by a joint scientific team from the Russian Quantum Center, Skoltech, and the Higher School of Economics published in Human Brain Mapping. This first ever novel supersensitive solid-state magnetometer records brain electrical activity with a technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG) with high accuracy. As it is based on a quantum sensor, it is capable of registering even weak or deep electrical sources in the brain.

Ultra-Precision Tool

The new device operates at room temperature and is also dozens of times cheaper. The team had validated the sensor in action by measuring a simple brain-induced field — the alpha rhythm — which constitutes sinusoidal electric currents in the back of the brain.

“The initial concept of this sensor was proposed by the project engineering lead, Pyotr Vetoshko, back in the mid-1990s. Currently, there is a steadily growing interest in MEG systems across the world, as confirmed by key market figures: The MEG market, which was estimated at $600 million in 2017 is expected to reach $1.3 billion by 2025. Although our quantum device and the classical flux-gate sensor have similar operating principles, in our case, the quantum exchange interaction helped detect a magnetic field with a magnitude 1,000 times lower compared to conventional solutions. Moreover, its high sensitivity coupled with all the advantages of classical flux-gate sensors makes our device a truly universal magnetometer ideally suited for brain research,” says Maxim Ostras, the head of the project at RQC.

The study marks an important step forward in non-invasive neuroimaging and neuro interfaces. The team plans to study various sensor configurations, including a flexible band-type device for utmost efficiency and accuracy in detecting the exact location of electrical activity in the cerebral cortex.

Source-Medindia