Concurrent spinal and brain imaging with optically pumped magnetometers.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biophysics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Human movement and sensation rely on spinal cord-brain interactions.
• Spinal cord electrophysiology is understudied due to accessibility challenges.
• Limited knowledge exists on human spinal cord pathologies and their brain effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel system for simultaneous brain and spinal cord electrophysiology measurement.
• To overcome limitations in studying human spinal cord function non-invasively.
• To enable concurrent imaging of central nervous system activity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized wearable optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs).
• Developed magnetospinoencephalography (MSEG) with custom scanning casts.
• Achieved flexible sensor arrangement for brain and spinal cord coverage.

Main Results:

• Successfully recorded spinal and cortical evoked responses to median nerve stimulation.
• Detected early (10-15 ms) and late (>20 ms) spinal responses.
• Observed typical cortical evoked responses (N20).

Conclusions:

• MSEG enables concurrent, non-invasive, millisecond-level imaging of brain and spinal cord.
• The system validates early spinal evoked responses comparable to existing methods.
• This technology advances the study of human neurophysiology and related pathologies.