Quantum-Enabled Brain Imaging: A Pathway to Clinical Utility

我们的目标是通过引入一种新型扫描仪来利用量子技术在医疗保健方面的潜力，这种扫描仪有可能显著影响人类大脑健康。人类大脑及其影响的疾病是21世纪医疗保健的巨大挑战。从儿童期发作的疾病，如癫痫，到与老年相关的问题，如痴呆症；大脑健康障碍极其虚弱，它们摧毁了家庭，每年花费英国超过1000亿GB。大脑扫描仪，如核磁共振，对我们管理各种疾病的能力产生了巨大的影响。然而，大多数扫描仪的设计都是为了拍摄大脑的样子，在许多疾病中，它看起来是正常的。相反，症状与大脑功能的异常有关，即脑细胞的实际活动。因此，迫切需要能够准确而有力地测量大脑活动的新一代扫描仪。我们已经率先在这一领域使用量子技术。简而言之，量子传感器使用原子的基本性质来测量现实世界中我们知道存在但我们看不见的东西，比如重力或磁场。我们知道，脑细胞之间通过小电流相互通信，这些电流产生的磁场穿过头骨，存在于头部之外。我们看不到它们，但我们可以使用量子传感器来检测它们，并通过这种方式测量大脑活动。我们已经知道这些测量是有用的；在癫痫中，我们可以精确地找到导致癫痫发作的大脑区域；在脑震荡中，我们可以看到头部损伤是如何改变不同大脑区域之间的沟通的；在痴呆症中，我们可以看到大脑活动是如何“放缓”的，从而为早期诊断提供了一种手段。我们现在面临的挑战是将这一巨大的潜力转化为医疗保健提供商的有用技术。在该项目的第一阶段，我们将与世界领先的临床医生合作，研究我们的扫描仪在哪里可以产生最大的影响，以及我们应该如何改变它以实现这种影响。输出将是对机器的一组要求。在第二阶段，我们将建造这台机器--解决第一阶段出现的所有技术要求。我们将在一项试验中部署这台机器，以证明量子技术可以帮助解决人类大脑健康中一些最紧迫的问题。

Our aim is to harness the potential of quantum technology in healthcare, by introducing a new type of scanner which has the potential to significantly impact human brain health.The human brain, and the disorders that affect it, represent an enormous challenge for 21st century healthcare. From diseases that strike in childhood, like epilepsy, to problems associated with old age, like dementia; brain health disorders are extremely debilitating, they devastate families, and they cost the UK over £100 billion per year.Brain scanners, like MRI, have had an enormous impact on our ability to manage all sorts of disorders. However, most scanners are designed to take pictures of what the brain looks like, and in many disorders it looks normal. Instead, symptoms relate to abnormalities in brain function i.e. what brain cells actually do. There is therefore a pressing need for a new generation of scanners that can accurately and robustly measure brain activity.We have pioneered the use of quantum technology in this field. Briefly, quantum sensors use the fundamental properties of atoms to measure things in the real world that we know exist, but we cannot see; like gravity, or magnetic fields. We know that brain cells communicate with each other via flow of small electrical currents, and those currents generate magnetic fields which pass through the skull and exist outside the head. We cannot see them, but we can use quantum sensors to detect them and, in this way, measure brain activity. We already know these measurements are useful; in epilepsy we can pinpoint brain regions responsible for seizures; in concussion we can see how head injury alters communication between different brain areas, and in dementia we can see how brain activity "slows down" offering a means for early diagnosis. Our challenge is now to translate this significant potential into a useful technology for healthcare providers.In Phase 1 of this project, we will partner with world leading clinicians to work out where our scanner could have the biggest impact, and how we should change it to deliver that impact. The output will be a set of requirements for a machine. In Phase 2 we will build this machine -- solving all the technical requirements emerging from Phase 1\. We will deploy this machine in a trial which will prove that quantum technology can help solve some of the most pressing problems in human brain health.