Brain signals sensor boost for detecting injury and disease

Magnetic signals in the brain, which are measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG), are easier to localise than electrical signals measured by EEG, so they are likely to have greater utility for earlier and more accurate diagnostic techniques.

Audio-visual treatment points to Alzheimer’s breakthrough

Physicist Dr Anna Kowalczyk led a team of scientists from the Quantum Gases group at Birmingham University’s School of Physics and Astronomy and the Neuronal Oscillation group at the School of Pyschology who designed a new Optically Pumped Magnetometer (OPM) sensor.  These sensors are used in MEG laboratories and utilise polarised light to detect changes in the orientation of the spin of atoms when they are exposed to a magnetic field.

According to the University, the new sensor is more robust in detecting the brain signals and distinguishing them from background magnetic noise compared to commercially available sensors. The team also reduced the sensor size by removing the laser from the sensor head and made further adjustments to decrease the number of electronic components.