Public Funding for Cerca Magnetics Limited

In this project, we will realise the potential of quantum technology for diagnosing and managing treatment of dementia. OPM-MEG is a new type of brain scan that uses quantum sensors to measure the tiny magnetic fields generated by the brain. In this way, OPM-MEG assesses electrical currents flowing through brain cells, and provides assessment of brain activity. OPM-MEG is wearable (it looks like a bike helmet) and patient friendly, it can be used in all ages (babies to adults), and patients can move (even go for a walk!) during a scan. It requires less infrastructure than conventional systems and significantly outperforms even the most advanced scanners currently in use. Brain health represents an enormous challenge for 21st century healthcare. In the UK, there are \>900,000 people living with dementia, and the disease costs the economy ~£35 billion per year. With an aging population, these figures are predicted to increase. Although there is no cure, there have been recent promising developments: new blood tests aid diagnosis, and new treatments have slowed memory decline. However, there remains no way to track disease progression, measure the effect of treatment, or assess new treatments. Further, there is a pressing need to diagnose different disease sub-types to select the best treatment for each individual. OPM-MEG offers significant promise in this area. Our project will develop a new type of OPM-MEG for dementia. To make our technology fit for purpose, we will overcome existing barriers by developing novel solutions. In particular, we will develop the hardware and software required to simplify the system, making it easier to use, more accurate, and faster to operate. In addition, we will develop cloud-based data processing, enabling results of a scan to be delivered more efficiently. The result will be a 'next-generation' device ready for translation, with both improved patient and operator experience. We will partner with the Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity (OHBA), which hosts a world-leading dementia clinic, the Oxford Brain Health Clinic. OPM-MEG will be installed and patients will be offered a scan. Working with the Oxford team, we will demonstrate feasibility of gathering data in large numbers of dementia patients, which will ultimately lead to more personalised treatments. In this way, the OPM-MEG at OHBA will act as a prototype for a clinical technology, demonstrating feasibility in dementia, whilst also establishing a basis for future use in other brain health applications.

Our aim is to harness the potential of quantum technology in healthcare, by introducing a new type of scanner which has the potential to significantly impact human brain health. The human brain, and the disorders that affect it, represent an enormous challenge for 21st century healthcare. From diseases that strike in childhood, like epilepsy, to problems associated with old age, like dementia; brain health disorders are extremely debilitating, they devastate families, and they cost the UK over £100 billion per year. Brain scanners, like MRI, have had an enormous impact on our ability to manage all sorts of disorders. However, most scanners are designed to take pictures of what the brain looks like, and in many disorders it looks normal. Instead, symptoms relate to abnormalities in brain function i.e. what brain cells actually do. There is therefore a pressing need for a new generation of scanners that can accurately and robustly measure brain activity. We have pioneered the use of quantum technology in this field. Briefly, quantum sensors use the fundamental properties of atoms to measure things in the real world that we know exist, but we cannot see; like gravity, or magnetic fields. We know that brain cells communicate with each other via flow of small electrical currents, and those currents generate magnetic fields which pass through the skull and exist outside the head. We cannot see them, but we can use quantum sensors to detect them and, in this way, measure brain activity. We already know these measurements are useful; in epilepsy we can pinpoint brain regions responsible for seizures; in concussion we can see how head injury alters communication between different brain areas, and in dementia we can see how brain activity "slows down" offering a means for early diagnosis. Our challenge is now to translate this significant potential into a useful technology for healthcare providers. In Phase 1 of this project, we will partner with world leading clinicians to work out where our scanner could have the biggest impact, and how we should change it to deliver that impact. The output will be a set of requirements for a machine. In Phase 2 we will build this machine -- solving all the technical requirements emerging from Phase 1\. We will deploy this machine in a trial which will prove that quantum technology can help solve some of the most pressing problems in human brain health.

Our aim is to harness the potential of quantum technology in healthcare, by introducing a new type of scanner which has the potential to significantly impact human brain health. The human brain, and the disorders that affect it, represent an enormous challenge for 21st century healthcare. From diseases that strike in childhood, like epilepsy, to problems associated with old age, like dementia; brain health disorders are extremely debilitating, they devastate families, and they cost the UK over £100 billion per year. Brain scanners, like MRI, have had an enormous impact on our ability to manage all sorts of disorders. However, most scanners are designed to take pictures of what the brain looks like, and in many disorders it looks normal. Instead, symptoms relate to abnormalities in brain function i.e. what brain cells actually do. There is therefore a pressing need for a new generation of scanners that can accurately and robustly measure brain activity. We have pioneered the use of quantum technology in this field. Briefly, quantum sensors use the fundamental properties of atoms to measure things in the real world that we know exist, but we cannot see; like gravity, or magnetic fields. We know that brain cells communicate with each other via flow of small electrical currents, and those currents generate magnetic fields which pass through the skull and exist outside the head. We cannot see them, but we can use quantum sensors to detect them and, in this way, measure brain activity. We already know these measurements are useful; in epilepsy we can pinpoint brain regions responsible for seizures; in concussion we can see how head injury alters communication between different brain areas, and in dementia we can see how brain activity "slows down" offering a means for early diagnosis. Our challenge is now to translate this significant potential into a useful technology for healthcare providers. In Phase 1 of this project, we will partner with world leading clinicians to work out where our scanner could have the biggest impact, and how we should change it to deliver that impact. The output will be a set of requirements for a machine. In Phase 2 we will build this machine -- solving all the technical requirements emerging from Phase 1\. We will deploy this machine in a trial which will prove that quantum technology can help solve some of the most pressing problems in human brain health.

Understanding the human brain, and the many disorders that affect it, is a major challenge for 21st century healthcare. Significant progress has been made by scanning technologies, like MRI, which show what the brain looks like in exquisite detail. However, in many disorders brain structure looks normal and conventional imaging is of limited use. Instead, the underlying problem is aberrant brain function (i.e. what brain cells _do_ goes wrong). Understanding these _functional_ deficits means measuring activity in the human brain's network of ~100 billion neurons. Neurons work by sending small electrical impulses to one another. These impulses create magnetic fields, which pass through the skull. If we can measure and interpret these fields, we gain a window on brain function. This process is called magnetoencephalography, or MEG: when we undertake a mental task, a MEG scan allows us to measure precisely which brain areas were involved and their relative timings. This is useful clinically; e.g. in epilepsy it allows us to map brain regions responsible for seizures. Unfortunately, MEG has not been widely taken up because: 1) the scanners are incredibly expensive; 2) performance of scanners is limited; 3) patients have to remain very still for long periods; 4) scanners are of little use in children. Cerca Magnetics have solved these problems with a completely new type of MEG system, worn like a helmet. Different sizes mean children, babies or adults can be accommodated, and a lightweight helmet allows patients to move during scanning. Scan quality is increased, and the system cost is decreased by 50%. These developments offer a unique opportunity to realise the potential of MEG as a powerful clinical tool. However, critically, the system needs regulatory approval for human use. Here, we seek to fast-track this process by amassing the body of information required. We will: 1. **Demonstrate the safety** of the system and complete all documentation to ensure compliance for human use. 2. **Build devices to ensure system accuracy** enabling system validation prior to use. 3. **Test the system in humans** to prove benefits over existing scanners 4. **Demonstrate clinical utility** in epilepsy by showing that we can accurately map aberrant brain tissue. Success will allow Cerca to attain regulatory approval allowing us to bring a new clinical tool to market. This will propel the UK to a global lead in imaging technology, and most importantly offer new hope to many suffering from extremely debilitating neurological conditions.

Medical imaging technologies, like MRI, have revolutionised healthcare. Modern scanners can image the structure of organs with millimetre precision, allowing things like growths or tumours to be pinpointed. This information is used by healthcare practitioners for everything from diagnosis to surgical planning. However, despite the success, the current generation of scanners are optimised for adults and are difficult to deploy in babies or infants. Indeed, young subjects are often sedated prior to scanning. Most scanners are designed to take images of the internal structure of the body (i.e. what an organ looks like). However, in the brain, we are increasingly confronted by diseases in which structure looks "normal", yet the way in which brain cells function has gone wrong. This can be the case, for example, in epilepsy or autism. For this reason, there is a critical need for scanning technology that can image the function of neural assemblies. There are number of technologies which already exist to do this, but most are again optimised for adults. Some require patients to remain still inside large and noisy scanners, and children find this hard to cope with. Obviously, since we want to measure brain function, sedation is not an option. Other technologies, like EEG, are relatively child friendly (a scanner can be worn like a hat, and a child can move during a scan). But these techniques lack sensitivity and spatial precision, making the data they generate of limited value. Recent years have seen rapid advances in "quantum sensors", devices which exploit the fundamental properties of atoms to measure things like magnetic field. One such sensor, "the OPM", has proved itself extremely useful in measuring brain function. Cerca Magnetics is a new company selling a novel brain scanner based on OPMs. The Cerca scanner offers vastly improved sensitivity and spatial precision compared to the current state-of-the-art. Patients wear it like a helmet and can move freely during a scan, making it comfortable and easy to use. So far Cerca have only built a scanner for adults. However, the principle is uniquely adaptable to infants/babies. Here, we will solve the basic physics problems associated with adaptation from adults to babies, and design an ergonomic helmet allowing babies to be scanned whilst held by their parents. We will demonstrate our device by acquiring high quality data from a baby brain. This will provide the footing for the world's first baby-optimised functional brain scanner.