Brain and quantum sensors. The prospects of magnetoencephalography
Meeting with Carmine Granata, Stefania Della Penna, moderated by Luca Pellegrino.
29 ottobre, ore 17:30
Palazzo Ducale, Archivio Storico del Comune
piazza G. Matteotti, 10 loggiato minore
Is it possible to measure the activity of the human brain in real time in a non-invasive way? The answer is yes: thanks to magnetoencephalography, a diagnostic technique that is not very widespread due to its high management costs and complexity. However, its integration with other techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, with a view to integrated multimodal imaging, and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, to improve its spatial resolution, would allow us to increase its potential with regards to the study and diagnostic capabilities on that very complex organ that is the human brain. In this meeting, this technique is seen with the eye of physics, focusing on the requirements of an instrument for magnetoencephalography also based on the types of application and multimodal integration, therefore on superconducting quantum interference sensors (SQUIDs) used in commercial systems for measuring very weak brain signals, and on the prospects for new devices capable of increasing its spectrum of application and its diffusion. A journey through superconductors, materials science, engineering and physics applied to medicine to go where no one else has ever gone before in the study of our most mysterious organ.
https://www.festivalscienza.it/programma-2023/cervello-e-sensori-quantistici