OPMs are 'room temperature' MEG sensors: they require no supercooling (are actually heated by lasers), which means no helium. Helium is a scarce, incredibly expensive resource.
Because OPMs can sit much closer to the scalp than traditional MEG sensors, they offer a 4-5x SnR boost over traditional measures.
This added signal means a much more robust system, which provides an incredible increase in both utility and source localization.
OPMs are socketed inside custom-built 3D printed head molds, greatly reducing motion and registration error. This has been coupled with quantitative MRI to reveal layer specific, 1mm level spatial acuity.
So OPMs offer everything from a traditional MEG lab on the cheap (I've heard for as low as a brand new EEG system), to a super customizable lab with spatial resolution rivialing 3T fMRI. Imagine a baby-brain OPM lab getting layer specific oscillations with little error.
Even more wild, built-in shielding raises the possibility (demonstrated in the science paper) of fully wearable MEG. This will enable fully 3D VR and 'in the wild' experiments, revolutionizing our understanding of the embodied brain.
I believe OPMs are the future of functional brain imagining, and am incredibly proud of my colleagues for this achievement! For more questions ping @sofie_meyer or @jbonaiuto - and of course to the co-authors at Nottingham, if someone can tag then.
Tldr: OPMs offer in essence the 'x-scanner' dreamt of for ages: excellent spatial and temporal resolution, highly customizable, and wearable to support dynamic neuroscience. Now we just need questions and models ready to use this amazing technology!
A few side benefits: OPMs are so flexible and sensitive, they can be 'droppes in' just about anywhere on the body (e.g. a shirt pocket), to provide cardiac, gastric, spinal, or other peripheral recordings!
Thanks and questions also to @Notts_MEG_Lab who developed these amazing sensors!
