Professor Matt Brookes leads MEG research in Nottingham and said: “Just 5 years ago, the idea of acquiring high resolution images of human brain electrophysiology whilst people walk around a room would have seemed like something from science fiction. The matrix coil has made this a reality! The applications span a huge area, from basic neuroscientific questions like how do young children learn to walk, to clinical challenges like why are older people prone to falling. It’s incredible to think how far this technology has come, and even more incredible to imagine where it’s going”.

The University launched the spin-out company Cerca Magnetics in 2020 to bring OPM-MEG research systems to the market. The wearable system has been installed in a number of research institutions across the globe, including Young Epilepsy’s Health and Research Centre in the UK. The team are currently working towards gaining clinical approval of the Cerca System to bring it closer to being used in clinical settings.


Niall adds: “We are excited to work with Cerca to incorporate this new coil design into the commercial systems and to see what new studies will be enabled by our work.”

The work is part of the UK Quantum Technologies Programme and was funded by the Engineering and Physics Research Council alongside the National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust.

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