Trinity College Dublin has acquired a new €2m state-of-the-art wearable brain scanner which it has described as a "gamechanger" for brain research in Ireland.
The country's first OPM-MEG scanning system will help researchers study the brain and identify the earliest signs of life-changing conditions such as epilepsy, dementia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The system is now up and running at a new brain imaging facility in Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience.
The scanner uses quantum technology to track brain networks, in real time, as they respond to different cognitive demands.
Unlike other brain scanning techniques like MRI where participants must lie motionless while the machine is operating, the OPM-MEG uses a lightweight, adaptable helmet which allows participants to be seated comfortably in a chair or even moving freely around a room.
This makes it possible to study brain activity during tasks more typical of every daily life and also to scan children and people with brain disorders.
For now, the scanner is only available for research use, but it is hoped that it will become available as a clinical diagnostic tool to improve treatment outcomes for patients.
A team of scientists from Trinity, Beaumont Hospital and the National Children's Hospital is working to have the OPM-MEG system recognised as a diagnostic and presurgical mapping tool by the Health Service Executive.
Professor Redmond O'Connell, director of the new facility, described the scanner as the most important breakthrough in human brain imaging in the last two decades.
"The new OPM-MEG system here in Trinity will provide scientists with unique information about the timing and location of brain activity which will deepen our understanding of how the brain works and advance our understanding of the origins of brain disorders," Prof O'Connell said.
"It's a gamechanger for researchers working on brain disorders and wider research on the human brain."
"The OPM-MEG systems also offer much higher sensitivity and better spatial precision at a lower cost than traditional MEG scanners and has unique potential to change the way that we diagnose and treat conditions like epilepsy," he added.
One of only 14 such machines in the world, the OPM-MEG system is housed in a specially shielded room in Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience room which eliminates external magnetic fields.
Funded by Research Ireland, the new facility is now open to researchers across Ireland working in areas such as psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, aging research and neurology.
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a neuroimaging technique that measures brain activity by detecting magnetic fields produced by electrical currents in the brain.
This allows scientists to construct 3D images showing moment-to-moment changes in brain activity.
The new brain scanner was developed by Cerca Magnetics which is based in Nottingham, England.
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