Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Colorado Boulder are teaming up with research teams nationwide to develop a ground-breaking brain imaging system for pediatric patients.
Centered around the incredible听碌OPM听sensor听technology developed by the听Knappe听Research Lab in the ME department at CU Boulder, a team of six undergraduate mechanical engineering seniors are designing hardware that will allow these sensors to be used for brain imaging in infants and children.
Current methods for characterizing the brain functions of an epileptic patient are very invasive and require intracranial EEG (electroencephalogram) probes to be implanted into patient's brains and monitored for days at a time.听MEG (Magnetoencephalography) provides a promising solution to the current methods. This type of brain imaging allows doctors to track and observe brain activity听non-invasively.
The most widely practiced method of MEG uses SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference device). These sensors are highly sensitive to changes in magnetic fields听but need to be cryogenically cooled, which prevents听flexible sensor placement听and results in less accurate measurements.
Our project utilizes听Knappe's听碌OPM听(Optically Pumped Magnetometer) sensors that have听an听equally high sensitivity; but unlike the SQUIDS, these听sensors are small and can be operated at room temperature which allows for flexible, customizable sensor placement for each patient.听
The student team was tasked with designing a Conformal MEG (cMEG) system that optimizes brain imaging in pediatric patients using听Knappe's听碌OPMs. The听cMEG听system includes a helmet shell, sensor locking mechanism, safety release, and a frame.听
To ensure peak performance of the听碌OPMs, the team designed for customizable sizing and sensor placement, minimized sensor movement, and eliminated metal contaminants. Because the system is going to be used for pediatric testing, the helmet shell accommodates for patients from six months to five years old.
One of the major design challenges is听that听the sensors need to be in light contact with the patient's head to minimize noise. To solve this problem, the team is developing a helmet that fits all required head sizes听and听provides customizable sensor听placement,听so听technicians听can听fit the sensors to each patient's head.听
Because the听碌OPM听sensors are highly sensitive, vibrational and magnetic interferences need to be minimized. A locking mechanism is being developed that, when activated, ensures sensor rigidity by preventing rotational and translational movement in all directions.
Senior Design Team Members:
Feisal Alenezi
Rebecca Bullard
Zachary Marshall
Samantha Preston
Mack Tang
Yousef Taqi
To minimize magnetic interference, the materials for this project are highly restricted. No metal can be used or embedded into any of the system components. Therefore, most components听are听3D printed, and all machined parts听are听thoroughly cleaned and tested to ensure no metal contaminants听are听introduced into the part during fabrication.听
Because the system is meant for human use, patient safety and comfort requirements needed to be听considered. The helmet shell is made of three parts: a base and two sides. This configuration ensures the patient's head is always supported by the base, while allowing the two sides to break away in case of emergency. This break away feature is controlled by听a听dual activation release technology that the team developed to guarantee patient safety听at all times. If the patient is under distress and applies a sufficient force to the sides of the helmet, the safety release is activated,听and the helmet shell breaks open. The technician is also able to manually trigger the safety release to free the patient from the helmet.听
Three team members will be travelling to Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital in May to install the system and train technicians on its use.
The helmet and all its supporting features are secured to a customized frame which attaches to a听patient听bed at Boston Children's Hospital.听There, the听cMEG听prototype will be used to test听Knappe's听碌OPM听sensors on pediatric patients with epilepsy. Three team members will be travelling to Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital in May to install the system and train technicians on its use.
After testing, the听碌OPM听sensors and the听cMEG听system will be fabricated for clinical integration. Long term, the system could be used as a non-invasive method for diagnosing and characterizing a wide range of neurological ailments including epilepsy, autism, and traumatic brain injuries.
The team is grateful to all those that made this project possible:听厂惫别苍箩补听碍苍补辫辫别, 颁丑谤颈蝉迟辞辫丑听碍别辫濒颈苍驳别谤, Dr. Yoshio Okada, Design Center Colorado, ITLL, CU Mechanical Engineering Department.
