Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a neuroimaging technique that has extremely good temporal resolution (<1 ms) and good spatial resolution (0.5 cm). MEG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoencephalography) and EEG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography) are completely noninvasive neuroimaging techniques. This means that both techniques are passive (no external signal is applied to the brain) and are simply measuring activity that naturally occurs either in the resting state or in response to some sensory stimulus. While MEG and EEG provide similar information, there are technical and practical advantages of using MEG to monitor brain activity in young children. First, the immature skull of infants and children contain features including the sutures and fontanels that distort the EEG signal, while the MEG signal is unaffected by these skull features. This allows for direct comparison of MEG signals across subjects with differing skull structures without concern that the external skull features are influencing any difference in the neuronal signal, providing a significant technical advantage over EEG in neurodevelopment studies. A significant practical advantage is that, unlike EEG, it is not necessary to attach electrodes directly to the head. Instead, the infant or toddler can simply lay on the babySQUID® cart with their head resting on the MEG sensor array to obtain good quality data.

The prototype babySQUID® MEG system was designed by Dr. Yoshio Okada, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico, and Tristan Technologies, inc., San Diego, CA, and built by Tristan. This is the only MEG system in the world to be designed specifically for measuring MEG signals from the infant/toddler. The system has two primary advantages over the currently available commercial adult MEG systems. First, the sensors are spaced more closely to account for the smaller head size of infants. Second, the sensors are located closer to the surface of the head rest allowing for increased sensitivity to neuronal activity. The system has 76 first-order gradiometers and 10 reference channels laid out in a hemispherical design that allows the baby to lie down during data collection. The sensors are 12-14 mm apart and are located approximately 6 mm below the surface of the dewar. The data acquisition system can collect data at rates up to 10 kHz. The data can currently be exported to two widely available MEG software analysis tools including BESA and Brainstorm, with additional development ongoing.

Policies and Procedures
The use of the babySQUID® is free to all the users interested in collaborating with the Mind Research Network (MRN). Interested users should contact Dr. Julia Stephen, Ph.D., Research Scientist, at the MRN. Before starting each study, the user must have a human research protocol approved by the sponsoring institution. Also, each user is responsible for the data acquisition and analysis and costs of the study, including subject recruitment and reimbursement. The MRN and UNM scientists are available for the training of the research personnel.

Scheduling
The scheduling should be done in consultation with Dr. Stephen of the MRN

Request Pilot Scans   
The policy for pilot scans is the same as for the collaborative studies described under MR Core Policies and Procedures.

Additional Resources

The babySQUID® study can be carried out along with MRI studies for identifying brain regions active in a given task. Please see MR Core Facilities for the use of the MRN MRI facilities.

Safety
All studies must follow the safety procedures approved by the MRN and the Human Research Review Committee of the University of New Mexico.