Virtual Brain Electrode (VIBE) for Imaging Neuronal Activity

 描述（由申请人提供）：将开发一种技术来确定脑电图（EEG）中的信号源自大脑的何处，以便生成“体素特异性EEG”，非常类似于来自植入电极的信号。我们建议称之为虚拟脑电极（VIBE）成像。该方法基于红细胞（RBC）由于其特定形状和其绝缘细胞表面而影响周围体积的电导率取决于其取向的原理。我们建议通过用磁性纳米颗粒加载RBC并使其在无场点（FFP）周围的小体积中经受振荡磁场来影响RBC的取向，如从磁性粒子成像（MPI）已知的。如果同时记录EEG，我们期望在源自该体积的记录信号中可见小调制。然后，我们能够以高精度确定EEG信号的空间起源，并且使用与MR光谱成像中使用的方法类似的方法，我们将能够为EEG信号的起源创建特定的3D图。这种新的方法将有助于更好地了解大脑的正常功能，适用于健康的人类受试者。与fMRI相比，我们的方法将提供更高的时间分辨率的神经元激活（相当于EEG），并反映直接电激活，而不是间接血氧水平依赖（BOLD）的影响。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A technique will be developed to determine where in the brain the signal in an electroencephalogram (EEG) is originating from in order to generate a "voxel-specific EEG", much like the signal coming from an implanted electrode. We propose to call this VIrtual Brain Electrode (VIBE) imaging. The method is based on the principle that red blood cells (RBCs), due to their specific shape and their insulating cell surface, affect the conductivity of the surrounding volume in dependence of their orientation. We propose to influence the orientation of the RBCs by loading them with magnetic nanoparticles and subjecting them to oscillating magnetic fields in a small volume around a field-free point (FFP), as known from Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI). If, at the same time, we record an EEG, we expect a small modulation to be visible in the recorded signal originating from this volume. We are then able to determine the spatial origin of the EEG signal with high precision and, using methods similar to those used as in MR spectroscopic imaging, we will be able to create a specific 3D map for the origin of the EEG signal. This new methodology would contribute significantly to a better understanding of the normal functioning of the brain, applicable in healthy human subjects. In comparison to fMRI, our method would provide a higher temporal resolution of neuronal activation (equivalent to EEG) and reflect direct electric activation, as opposed to the indirect blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) effect.