From superconducting to optically pumped sensors for biomagnetism

From superconducting to optically pumped sensors for biomagnetism 

 Abstract: Measurements of magnetic fields produced by the body have traditionally been made using super-conducting technology.  

These systems have incredible bandwidth and dynamic range but one has to climb into them.  Indeed, through the use of custom-build casts, we began to build people into these scanners.

Recently, Optically Pumped Magnetometers (OPMs) have become small and sensitive enough to measure these magnetic field changes. 

These devices offer some advantages over traditional cryogenic systems. They can be worn and made tolerant to levels of subject movement far exceeding traditional neuroimaging constraints. 

We can now build the scanners onto people.  This allows us to build custom arrays designed to measure optimally from different structures. For example, we have begun to look for interactions between the spinal cord and cortex.

I will outline some recent work and offer some perspectives on the exciting challenges ahead.

Biography

Professor Gareth Barnes is Head of MEG at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at UCL. He has held research positions at the Juelich Institute for Medicine in Germany, Aston University Birmingham, and McGill University. His work has been pivotal in the development and validation of MEG methods.