Sensitive, child-friendly brain sensors to record fast brain waves in infants
Official title: Closed-Loop Triaxial Optically Pumped Magnetometers for High-Sensitivity and High-Bandwidth Magnetoencephalography Measurements of the Developing Brain
Funded at Sandia Corp-Sandia National Laboratories · NIH-11160527 · Data updated 2026-11-12
We are building very sensitive, child-friendly brain sensors to record fast, tiny brain waves in six-month-old infants to better understand early brain development and conditions like autism or neurodegenerative disorders.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sandia Corp-Sandia National Laboratories NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Albuquerque, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $721,188 |
| NIH project number | 5U01EB035534-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11160527 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are infants around six months old whose families can travel to a participating lab for short, non-invasive brain recordings.
✕Less likely to help
Adults, children outside the infant age window, or anyone unable to come to a lab or tolerate the recording would not be eligible to participate or likely benefit directly.
What this research studies
You or your infant would help develop a new kind of non-invasive brain scanner (MEG) that uses tiny light-based magnetic sensors called optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs). The team is working with an industry partner to create triaxial, closed-loop OPMs with much higher sensitivity and faster bandwidth so they can pick up high-frequency 'gamma' brain waves near the scalp. The sensors are designed to be adjustable for each head and to reject outside interference, so recordings from six-month-old infants are clearer. If the sensors work as planned, researchers will use short, in-person recordings while infants hear sounds or do simple tasks to map early brain activity patterns.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could let researchers detect early changes in infant brain activity, helping to spot developmental or degenerative conditions sooner and guide better interventions.
How similar studies have gone: MEG and earlier OPM sensors have been used in adults and older children, but using triaxial closed-loop OPMs to reliably record high-frequency gamma activity in six-month-old infants is new and largely untested.
Where this research is happening
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Sandia Corp-Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schwindt, Peter D. D. — Sandia Corp-Sandia National Laboratories
- Study coordinator: Schwindt, Peter D. D.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.