A Room Temperature Atomic Magnetrode System for Telemetry of Epileptic Seizures

Optically-pumped magnetometers (OPM) sensors, which are based on optical probing of alkali atoms in the vapor phase at (or slightly above) room temperature, have recently demonstrated sensitivity levels comparable with SQUID magnetometers in the laboratory. These sensors require no cooling and can potentially be fabricated at much lower cost than SQUIDs. Beginning in the late 1990s, optically-pumped magnetometers began to be used for biomagnetic applications, first for measurement of heart magnetic fields and more recently for measurement of brain fields by several groups around the world.

Magnetic sensors based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) have been the dominant sensor in the field of magnetoencephalography since its birth in the early 1970s. SQUIDs have exceptional sensitivity to enable the detection of these very weak signals. Current FDA-approved MEG devices contain liquid helium gas in a big container that is mounted over the head of the subject