Introducing Neuro-1, a state-of-the-art, integrated optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) sensor system designed for high-channel density biomagnetic applications such as Magnetoencephalography (MEG). This all-in-one solution combines QZFM sensors, control electronics, data acquisition, and power supply into a streamlined, unified system.
A key advance in Neuro-1 (N1) is the miniaturization and integration of sensor control electronics. Thanks to its compact size, the N1 electronics can be placed inside a small backpack worn by the user. The N1 data acquisition system (DAQ) can acquire data from 128+ sensors (384 channels) and has built-in synchronous external analog and digital inputs and outputs. An application programming interface (API) enables data acqusition and communication with N1 using third-party software, including Labview, Matlab, and Python.
Results published with the first prototype N1 system: link
System Architecture
In N1, the size of an individual QZFM electronics controller unit (ECU) has reduced from textbook size to that of an SD card. The output of the N1 ECU is all-digital, and any number of ECUs can be combined on a motherboard to run an almost arbitrarily large sensor array. The number of ECUs a motherboard can carry is highly customizable and upgrade-friendly.
The data from the motherboard is channeled over an ethernet cable to the DAQ system where the sensor data is synchronously combined with data from external inputs. The DAQ then transmits the combined data to a PC via a separate ethernet connection. A single DAQ can also synchronously acquire data from multiple N1 systems to enable hyperscanning and other distributed applications.
Key Highlights
- Super compact, power efficient, with built-in sensor synchronization
- Highly customizable and upgrade-friendly
- Scalable to accommodate an almost arbitrary number of sensors
- User-selectable single, dual, or triaxial mode (requires triaxial QZFM sensor head)
- Built-in triaxial closed-loop mode
- Built-in DAQ with multiple external digital and analog I/O, and a low-noise power supply
- API to interface with external software
Neuro-1: An integrated sensor system for OPM-MEG