Demonstrating equivalence across magnetoencephalography scanner platforms using neural fingerprinting

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are the current standard for magnetoencephalography (MEG).
• Optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) present a promising, potentially more accessible alternative for MEG.
• Direct validation of OPM-based MEG systems against SQUID-based systems is crucial for clinical adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the equivalence of brain activity measurements between an OPM-based MEG system and a conventional SQUID-based MEG system.
• To assess the ability of both systems to detect primary neural responses and subtle attentional effects.
• To validate the feasibility of neural fingerprinting across both OPM and SQUID MEG platforms.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of data from a 192-channel OPM-MEG system and a 275-channel SQUID-MEG system during a sensory task.
• Analysis of induced beta-band oscillations and evoked neural responses.
• Evaluation of neural fingerprinting by matching individual data between OPM and SQUID systems.

Main Results:

• High correlations (0.96 for beta, 0.97 for evoked responses) were observed between OPM and SQUID systems at the group level.
• Both MEG systems successfully detected significant attentional modulation of beta-band activity.
• Successful neural fingerprinting was achieved in 15/15 individuals for OPM-MEG, 14/15 for SQUID-MEG, and 15/15 for cross-platform data.

Conclusions:

• OPM-based MEG systems capture comparable neural information to established SQUID-based systems.
• The findings support the equivalence of OPM and SQUID technologies for measuring brain function.
• This study is a significant step toward the clinical implementation of OPM-based MEG.