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Brain scanner game changer in neural care
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BRITISH scientists have unveiled a next-generation wearable brain scanner that can be donned like a helmet and allows patients to move freely while being scanned, potentially revolutionizing neural care for children and the elderly.
Researchers hailed the “transformative” imaging set-up, which for the first time gave them access to brain activity while patients make natural movements, including nodding, stretching and even playing ping pong.
“It gives us a new kind of brain scanner that allows us to study things we’ve never been able to study before and people who have never been able to be scanned in a neuro-imaging environment — patients from groups like children for example,” said Professor Gareth Barnes from University College London, who worked on the project.
Current magnetoencephalography scanners use sensors to measure the brain’s magnetic field that need to be kept extremely cold — minus 269 degrees Celsius, or close to absolute zero — requiring bulky cooling technology.
They typically weigh around half a ton and patients must remain perfectly still so as not to disrupt the brain images produced.
This makes it hard to scan patients who are unable to stay immobile for long periods, such as young children or those with movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
The new scanner, developed by researchers from UCL and the University of Nottingham, does away with the need for cooling by using state-of-the-art “quantum” brain sensors, which represent two giant leaps in scanning technology.
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