NIH gifts $6 million to design of wearable, more accurate MEG system

por John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | March 12, 2020
Alzheimers/Neurology

Measurements made by Sandia’s and a superconductor-based system were less than a centimeter apart, according to Borna who asserts that future, wearable versions will have 27 sensors to map the magnetic field over a portion of the brain, and that the array will remain inside a magnetically shielded room instead of a tube to allow the subject to move. He says that such technology may eventually lead to clinical use of MEG for traumatic brain injury and autism.

“In the case of TBI, there are a few possible uses of our technology: identification of mild TBI, as well as prediction of long-term prognosis,” he said. “This application would be relevant to neurologists who are seeking to better treat individuals with ongoing symptoms following a head injury. For autism, the primary goal is early identification to facilitate early intervention. This could be helpful to pediatricians in helping to better treat this developmental disorder.”

The next steps in designing the system include developing a new generation of magnetic quantum-sensors and the hardware to operate 108 MEG channels, nearing full-head coverage to the patient.

Hardware and software development are expected to take about four years. A time-to-market of 5 to 6 years is expected.

The findings were published in the journal, PLOS ONE.

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