High-Tc SQUID vs. low-Tc SQUID-based recordings on a head phantom: Benchmarking for magnetoencephalography
Journal article, 2015

We explore the potential that high critical-temperature (high-Tc) superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) technology has for magnetic recordings of brain activity, i.e., magnetoencephalography (MEG). To this end, we performed a series of benchmarking experiments to directly compare recordings with a commercial (low-Tc SQUID-based) 306-channel MEG system (Elekta Neuromag TRIUX, courtesy of NatMEG) and a single channel high-Tc SQUID system. The source on which we recorded is a head phantom including 32 artificial current dipoles housed inside a half-spherical shell (courtesy Elekta Oy) for calibrating MEG systems. The high-Tc SQUID magnetometer consisted of a single layer YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) film on a 10 mm × 10 mm bicrystal substrate with a magnetic field sensitivity of ~40 fT/Hz down to 10 Hz. We recorded serial activations of eight tangential current dipoles located at different depths from the surface of the head phantom. Results indicate that our individual high-Tc SQUID demonstrated signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) about 7-14 times lower than that of similarly-positioned low-Tc SQUIDs in a commercial MEG system. Only considering single-channel SNR, high-Tc SQUIDs with resolution better than 18 fT/Hz would be required to outperform the low-Tc system for shallow dipole sources. This work demonstrates a proof of principle study for future multichannel high-Tc MEG system development.

High-temperature superconductors

Benchmark testing

Yttrium barium copper oxide

dc-SQUIDs

Magnetoencephalography

Author

Minshu Xie

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics

Justin Schneiderman

University of Gothenburg

Maxim Chukharkin Leonidovich

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics

Alexei Kalaboukhov

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics

S. Whitmarsh

Karolinska Institutet

D. Lundqvist

Karolinska Institutet

Dag Winkler

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2)

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

1051-8223 (ISSN) 15582515 (eISSN)

Vol. 25 3 Article number 6940248- 6940248

Areas of Advance

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Subject Categories

Nano Technology

DOI

10.1109/TASC.2014.2366420

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