A new device comes forth that can reader brain waves more accurately

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have come up with a prototype of a neuro-wave reader that can detect very sensitive brain waves in a very accurate manner. According to the researchers at NIST, this is a milestone in the medical science that will help fight mental diseases in the coming years.

The atom-based device, the size of a sugar cube, can pick-up diminutive brain waves. German scientists at a lab in Berlin described as having the best magnetic shielding in the world to block the Earth’s magnetic field from interfering with extremely sensitive measurements. (The sensor measures signals of about a trillionth of a tesla — called a picotesla; MRIs, by comparison, register closer to 1 to 8 tesla.)

The researchers, in a weekly journal explained the functionality and composition of the device that their tiny sensor — which consists of a gas of 100 billion rubidium atoms and fiber optics to detect the light signals that in turn register the strength of magnetic fields — now uses a new type of optical fiber that improves signal clarity.

“We’re focusing on making the sensors small, getting them close to the signal source, and making them manufacturable and ultimately low in cost,” said NIST co-author Svenja Knappe in the institute’s news release. “By making an inexpensive system, you could have one in every hospital to test for traumatic brain injuries and one for every football team.”

This is second best breakthrough in less than two years in the medical science. The first iteration of the device that had been in the development since 2004, came up on the horizon in 2010 in the shape of a device with a sensor that could track the human heartbeat.

Moreover, the device is very cost effective and cheaper than other neuro-readers  currently available in the market. The researchers at NIST stated that the final product will available in the market in the coming couple of years.

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Posted by Usman Khalid on Apr 21 2012. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.