An informative article by Carmine Granata and Stefania Della Penna entitled “Quantum sensors to study the brain” was published in the February issue of the magazine SAPERE (Dedalo). The article aims to provide a simple description of some quantum sensors, emphasizing their extraordinary sensitivity and application potential for biomedicine and in particular for the study of the brain. In particular, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) will be described, they are the best existing magnetic field sensors, capable of measuring magnetic fields well below one billionth of the Earth’s magnetic field. Such sensitivity allows us to measure the very weak magnetic field generated by the neuronal currents that pass through our brain. The peculiar characteristics of the aforementioned sensors have allowed their applications in many fields ranging from non-destructive analysis of materials, magnetic microscopy, geophysics, astrophysics, quantum computing and medicine. The most important of the applications is undoubtedly neurology where they are used both for neuroscience studies and in clinical research. In this last field, SQUIDs are used to carry out magnetoencephalography, a completely non-invasive analysis, which, thanks to the simultaneous use of multiple sensors, allows instant mapping of the magnetic activity of the brain. The aforementioned investigation is very useful for the study of neurodegenerative pathologies (Alzheimer’s syndrome, Parkinson’s syndrome, fronto-temporal dementia) or for the localization of epileptic foci. Therefore, starting from the principles of quantum physics on which the operation of the aforementioned sensors is based, we arrive at the description of advanced instrumentation used in the neurological field, reporting some particularly significant examples of measurements.
Link, volume 1-2024:
https://edizionidedalo.it/riviste/riviste-attive/sapere/sapere-1-2024.html
Link to the article: