الوضع الليلي
0
Magnetic Scanner Small Enough for Kids to Study Brain Development
7:24:50 2019-11-13 1884

As kids grow, their brains undergo a development process that is poorly understood. Children can have short attention spans, move around a lot, and are not easy to get into and then keep still inside a stationary scanner.

 

Now, a collaboration of scientists from University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, and University College London has developed a functional magnetoencephalography scanner that young kids can wear while playing video games and doing other normal activities. Using the technology, it may be possible to better understand how a variety of brain conditions develop. Of course, there may also be diagnostic possibilities when looking for autism, ADHD, and other diseases.

 

Magnetoencephalography measures the magnetic fields that excitable cells, such as neurons, generate when electric current passes through them. This provides a view into the regional brain, so when the subject moves arms and hands, the activity in the motor cortex can be seen.

 

Most magnetometers used in magnetoencephalography are very heavy and rigid machines called superconducting quantum interference devices. The British team used recently developed optically pumped magnetometer technology to reduce the helmet to about a pound (500 grams) in weight.

 

Optically pumped magnetometers don’t require extremely low temperatures, and so can be placed much closer to the head, resulting in a higher quality signal. Additionally, the special room where this has to be performed, has walls with a conductive pattern that is used to actively normalize the surrounding magnetic field.

 

The technology may answer a lot of questions about brain development and perhaps lead to novel therapies for common neurological diseases.

 

Some details about the technology according to the open access study in Nature Communications:

 

Traditional (superconducting) MEG sensors require cooling inside a large cryogenic dewar, meaning systems cannot adapt to head shape/size and require participants to keep still during data acquisition. However, recently developed optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) offer a means to measure the small magnetic fields generated by the brain; they are small and lightweight, and can be positioned flexibly on the scalp surface. This means that an OPM-MEG system can be adapted to any head shape/size. Furthermore, if background magnetic fields are appropriately nulled, OPMs can be mounted on the head and participants can move during scanning.

Reality Of Islam

The Event of Closing the Doors

1:2:14   2026-10-13  

The Event of Mubahala

3:12:1   2026-10-11  

Proclamation of Surah al-Barāa

12:16:26   2026-10-05  

HadIth al-Manzila

1:15:53   2026-10-01  

MOST VIEWS

Importance of Media

9:3:43   2018-11-05

Illuminations

remember who supported you

2:2:13   2022-10-08

bahlool & the khalifa`s food

8:19:41   2018-06-21

prophet adam & the apple

1:16:44   2018-05-14

a wisdom

8:4:21   2022-01-08

apologize when you are wrong

7:6:7   2022-03-21

be yourself

4:2:19   2022-10-10

education importance

7:26:19   2022-04-08



IMmORTAL Words
LATEST Unstable Blood Pressure Linked to Higher Risk of Death and Stroke NASAs SpaceX Crew 12 Splashes Down After 237 Days and 100 million Miles in Orbit Something Strange Is Happening Beneath Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua The Event of Closing the Doors No one other than you shall perform my ritual washing and shrouding The Integrated Personality Sleeping Less Than 5 Hours Was Linked to Higher Risk of 37 Diseases Scientists Uncover Two Hidden Forms of Disorder in Next-Generation Semiconductors A Giant Insect on the Brink of Extinction Is Making an Extraordinary Comeback The Event of Mubahala Preparing the Prophet (PBUH) for Burial and His Burial Paternal Friendship: The Key to Influencing Adolescents