During the first year of the projects, the following work has been done:
1) User specifications have been defined.
2) Guidelines for safety and regulatory requirements for the devices have been written.
3) Test to be used later to validate the systems have been specified.
4) The magnetometer array (SQUID sensor array) has been investigated; comparisons between wire-wound and more traditional integrated magnetometer designs have been analyzed.
5) A test dewar has been designed and fabricated.
6) A new generation of SQUIDs to obtain a lower noise level and better field tolerance has been fabricated.
7) Ultra-low-noise electronics for MRI coils have been investigated.
8) Methods for direct current imaging have been further developed.
9) Phantoms for testing the systems have been developed.
10) The effect of improved coregistration of MEG and MRI on source localization accuracy has been quantitatively studied.
11) A web page has been prepared.
12) Video and other material about the project have been produced.
13) The project and initial results have been reported in conferences and in publications.
As a result of the final period (M13-M41):
1) A novel MEG-MRI device including 120 new SQUID sensors was built. This MEG-MRI system will allow one to locate electrical brain activity more reliably and more accurately than before. This is expected to be beneficial for the characterization of epileptic activity in patients as well as abnormal activity in other brain disorders. The new system is also expected to be useful in basic studies of brain function.
2) A novel type of measurement, Current Density Imaging or CDI, was demonstrated. Here the 3-dimensional flow pattern of electric current injected in an object (eventually via scalp electrodes to the brain) is uniquely determined from the changes in MRI signals due to the magnetic field produced by the current flow.
3) Using the same principles as in CDI but now aiming to measure neuronally generated currents in the brain, progress was made but it was found that neuronal signals are not quite as strong as would be necessary for them to be seen with the thus far developed technology.
4) Phantoms that approximate the physical properties of the head and its internal structure were developed. These were tested experimentally and modeled with computer simulations.
5) It was shown that for locating brain activity and in particular for determining area-to-area connectivity with MEG, an improvement in MEG-MRI coregistration to approximately 2-mm range is needed. This accuracy is not possible with current techniques but can be easily achieved with the new technology.
6) Algorithms were developed and tested for solving the MEG inverse problem when very good co-registration is available and in the case when neuronal current imaging data would be available.
7) Market analysis including potential use cases was performed.
Although not all planned work could not be done during the project because of delays in SQUID sensor production (the device developers and fabrication facilities had to prioritize the European Space Agency ESA in their work due to ESA’s strict deadlines), overall BREAKBEN can be considered a success. This work will continue with Innovation Launchpad and Business Finland funding in order to prepare the technology for commercial exploitation.
