New NIH Supplement Grant for Additional OPM Sensors

The Institute for Human Neuroscience (IHN) at Boys Town National Research Hospital is home to the Center for Pediatric Brain Health (CPBH), an NIH Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). The CPBH specializes in pediatric neuroimaging, brain health, and developmental neuroscience. Additionally, the IHN is also home to the second of two high-density optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) systems in the world.

On June 28th, 2023, the CPBH was awarded an Administrative Supplement for Equipment from the General Medical Sciences branch of the NIH, for the purchase of a new 64-channel OPM array to add to the CPBH Imaging Core. With the addition of more OPM sensors, researchers at IHN will be able to embark on high-precision, dynamic functional imaging of infants and young children. Furthermore, the addition of a second OPM array enables researchers to simultaneously image brain function of a parent and a child using “hyper-scanning”. This is an amazing opportunity for IHN researchers to examine the brain functions of newborns as they interact with their parent, while simultaneously measuring the brain function of the parent, is nothing short of groundbreaking! IHN is the first and only program in the world to have such an advanced system, and we are very excited to see the scientific discoveries that unfold.

For more information on the Center for Pediatric Brain Health (CPBH) click here.

For more information on the high-density optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) system, visit our equipment page here.