CTF MEG™ Magnetoencephalography Brain Imaging System

O’Canada-based VSM MedTech Ltd. reports that its magnetoencephalography (MEG) functional brain imaging system will be installed at the Center for Neuromagnetism at NYU Medical Center. The 275-channel CTF MEG™ device is scheduled to be in place in 2006.
The company describes its technology:

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a revolutionary medical imaging technology that provides unprecedented insight into the workings of the human brain through the measurement of electromagnetic activity.
By measuring the magnetic fields created by the electric current flowing within the neurons, MEG identifies brain activity associated with various human functions in real time, with millimeter spatial accuracy.
This non-invasive approach can positively impact patient outcomes, providing clinicians with the invaluable information they need to evaluate neurological disorders and plan surgical treatments.
Our CTF MEG systems are the most technologically advanced instruments available in the world today, offering MEG sensor arrays of up to 275 distinct channels with up to 128 simultaneous EEG sensors. The exquisite sensitivity of the MEG sensors is achieved by utilizing the world’s most sensitive detectors of magnetic fields, SQUIDS (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices)…
How does MEG work?
Both spontaneous brain function (for example, normal alpha waves or pathological epileptic spikes) and evoked brain activity (caused by an external stimulus such as visual, auditory or tactile input) can be measured using MEG. In both cases, electrical currents in a group of neurons within the brain create very small magnetic fields. Special detectors called superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), cooled to the temperature of liquid helium (about -273°C), can measure these tiny magnetic fields.

With sophisticated electronics and software, the output of the SQUIDS are used to localize the source of the brain activity within millimetres. The resulting functional brain data may then be overlaid on an anatomical image produced by, for example, an MRI.

The company says that this diagnostic modality can be used for patients in preparation for neurosurgery as well as in treatment of epilepsy. It also “holds promise for millions of patients suffering from a wide range of debilitating neurological disorders.”
More at VSM MedTech Ltd…