Realising the potential of magnetoencephalography (MEG) using Optically Pumped Magnetometers (OPMs)

使用光泵磁力计 (OPM) 实现脑磁图 (MEG) 的潜力

• 批准号: MR/X012263/1
• 负责人: Matthew Brookes
• 金额: $ 101.29万
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FX012263%2F1
• 关键词: Realising; potential; magnetoencephalography; MEG; using

In the UK around 600,000 people are living with epilepsy; over 220,000 people are being treated for schizophrenia; 700,000 people have autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), and every 90 seconds one person is admitted to hospital with a head injury. For many of these individuals, conventional brain scanning (e.g. MRI) will be of limited value. For example, in children with epilepsy, MRI often fails to spot an abnormality, and when it does it is frequently unclear whether that abnormality is driving seizures. In traumatic brain injury (TBI), most injuries (~70%) are classified as "mild" (mTBI - more often called concussion). Of these, around 30% go on to produce debilitating symptoms, yet structural imaging shows no abnormality. Likewise in schizophrenia and ASD, individuals are unlikely to show anomalies in conventional imaging. These examples (and many others) highlight the critical need to develop new forms of imaging which can provide objective diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning for a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders.Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is an imaging technology which measures brain function (i.e. what our brain cells do). Using sensors placed close to the head, MEG measures the small currents that flow through assemblies of neurons as we carry out mental tasks. It can track healthy brain activity, and how such activity breaks down in disease. It has proven capability in epilepsy, and it can classify patients with concussion with >95% accuracy. It can also see how brain activity differs in people with schizophrenia, and autism. However, it has drawbacks: In conventional scanners, the sensing technology is bulky, complicated and extremely expensive; patients have to stay still for long periods; it cannot adapt to people with different head size and is difficult to use in children. Even in adults, both sensitivity (how well it picks up signals from the brain) and spatial resolution (how well we can pinpoint a specific area of the brain) is limited. We have designed a new type of MEG scanner using sensors that are small and lightweight (like Lego bricks). The sensors can be mounted into lightweight helmets (similar to bike helmets). Because the sensors move with the head, good scans can be generated even if patients move around. Helmets can come in different sizes, so we can adapt the scanner to scan people of any age. This "wearable" system can also measure brain activity with greater spatial resolution and sensitivity. It is much cheaper to buy, and easier to maintain. This device - called an OPM-MEG scanner - is very new. We have proven its capability with a prototype which has 192 sensors, but this isn't enough to offer the high sensitivity and precision that OPM-MEG allows. Also, the current version has cumbersome electronics which make it hard to use. Here, we seek to buy the equipment to allow construction of a greatly enhanced system, which can be used for cutting-edge medical researchThe system will have 384 sensors; it will be more sensitive and have higher spatial resolution than any other MEG scanner in the world. It will have compact electronics which will sit in a small backpack worn by the subject. This will allow us to scan people as they walk. The scanner will be operated as a national facility meaning researchers from across the UK will use it for lots of different research projects. Some example projects include scanning infants with epilepsy, understanding concussion, measuring brain activity in schizophrenia, scanning elderly people who are prone to falling as they walk, and scanning a mother and baby at the same time to understand how infants learn from their parents, and how that goes wrong in disorders like autism. These are just a few examples of projects we will support. Because OPM-MEG is simple, practical, and lower cost, it is highly suited to clinical practice. This equipment is the first step along a path to using this new technology in hospitals.

在英国，大约有60万人患有癫痫;超过22万人正在接受精神分裂症的治疗; 70万人患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD），每90秒就有一人因头部受伤而入院。对于这些人中的许多人来说，传统的大脑扫描（例如MRI）的价值有限。例如，在癫痫儿童中，MRI通常无法发现异常，即使发现了，也常常不清楚异常是否是癫痫发作的原因。在创伤性脑损伤（TBI）中，大多数损伤（约70%）被归类为“轻度”（mTBI -更常称为脑震荡）。其中，大约30%的人会继续产生衰弱的症状，但结构成像显示没有异常。同样，在精神分裂症和ASD中，个体不太可能在常规成像中显示异常。这些例子（以及许多其他例子）突出了开发新的成像形式的迫切需要，这些成像形式可以为一系列神经和精神疾病提供客观的诊断，预后和治疗计划。脑磁图（MEG）是一种测量大脑功能（即我们的脑细胞做什么）的成像技术。使用靠近头部的传感器，MEG测量当我们执行心理任务时流经神经元集合的小电流。它可以跟踪健康的大脑活动，以及这种活动如何在疾病中分解。它已被证明在癫痫方面的能力，它可以以>95%的准确率对脑震荡患者进行分类。它还可以看到精神分裂症和自闭症患者的大脑活动是如何不同的。然而，它也有缺点：在传统的扫描仪中，传感技术体积庞大，复杂且极其昂贵;患者必须长时间保持静止;它不能适应不同头部尺寸的人，并且难以用于儿童。即使在成年人中，灵敏度（从大脑接收信号的能力）和空间分辨率（我们可以精确定位大脑的特定区域）都是有限的。我们设计了一种新型的脑磁图扫描仪，使用的传感器体积小，重量轻（像乐高积木）。传感器可以安装在轻型头盔（类似于自行车头盔）中。由于传感器与头部一起移动，即使患者四处移动，也可以生成良好的扫描。头盔可以有不同的尺寸，所以我们可以调整扫描仪来扫描任何年龄的人。这种“可穿戴”系统还可以以更高的空间分辨率和灵敏度测量大脑活动。这是更便宜的购买，更容易维护。这种设备-称为OPM-MEG扫描仪-是非常新的。我们已经用一个有192个传感器的原型证明了它的能力，但这还不足以提供OPM-MEG所允许的高灵敏度和精度。此外，目前的版本有笨重的电子设备，使其难以使用。在这里，我们寻求购买设备，以允许构建一个大大增强的系统，可用于尖端的医学研究该系统将有384个传感器;它将比世界上任何其他MEG扫描仪更敏感，具有更高的空间分辨率。它将有紧凑的电子设备，将坐在一个小背包穿的主题。这将使我们能够在人们走路时对其进行扫描。该扫描仪将作为一个国家设施运行，这意味着来自英国各地的研究人员将使用它进行许多不同的研究项目。一些示例项目包括扫描患有癫痫的婴儿，了解脑震荡，测量精神分裂症的大脑活动，扫描走路时容易摔倒的老年人，同时扫描母亲和婴儿，以了解婴儿如何从父母那里学习，以及自闭症等疾病如何出错。这些只是我们将支持的项目的几个例子。由于OPM-MEG简单、实用、成本低，非常适合临床实践。这台设备是在医院使用这项新技术的沿着道路迈出的第一步。