New project aims to develop quantum sensors to improve brain tumor surgery

New project aims to develop quantum sensors to improve brain tumor surgery

Removing a brain tumor presents surgeons with special challenges: They must remove the tumor without damaging healthy brain tissue. Among other things, it is important to keep an eye on the motor cortex, which is responsible for movement. For example, if a nerve pathway that leads from there to the arm is severed, the patient will no longer be able to move this arm after the operation. Appropriate diagnostics already help to identify and protect such nerve pathways and brain regions.

DiaQNOS: flagship project in quantum sensing

In the future, quantum sensor technology is expected to further improve the allocation of functions to specific areas of the brain - via new diagnostic devices that, among other things, refine neuronavigation. A consortium of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) is working on this in the new DiaQNOS project together with various partners from research, medicine and industry. The five-year project, which started in October 2022, is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with a total of almost 11 million euros. The University of Mainz, as project manager, will receive 1.5 million euros.

The basis for the DiaQNOS project was laid by the BrainQSens joint project, in which JGU was also represented. The BrainQSens consortium has developed highly sensitive magnetic sensors that enable improved medical diagnostics.

“In this quantum sensor showcase project, we have already been able to improve the magnetic field sensor technology to such an extent that it can, in principle, detect the brain’s magnetic fields,” explains Dr. Arne Wickenbrock from JGU and HIM, who coordinates the joint project. “Now it’s about taking the next steps towards medical application and making quantum sensors usable for society.” The DiaQNOS consortium takes this application focus into account by including neurosurgeons from the Freiburg University Hospital, i.e. the future users of the technology, and the medical device manufacturer inomed Medizintechnik GmbH. In addition, Sacher Lasertechnik GmbH and TTI GmbH, as companies with experience in the commercialization of new developments, contribute their know-how.

A device suitable for use in surgery will be developed over a period of three years, followed by two years of medical research. Among other things, brain tissue samples from a tissue bank in Freiburg are being examined for the first time for their magnetic properties, particularly with regard to new diagnostic possibilities for brain tumors.

Mainz expertise in building a quantum sensor

The researchers from the University of Mainz and the HIM are devoting themselves, among other things, to the construction of the quantum sensor. Professor Dmitry Budker's research group has strengthened magnetography as a core competency in Mainz over the years and he himself will contribute his expertise to the project.

These quantum sensors are based on nitrogen vacancies in diamond, that is, nanoscale magnetic field sensors trapped in the diamond. A large number of these magnetic field sensors can be present in a thin diamond layer. This allows us to create a magnetic image of the object that the sensor sees.”

Dr. Arne Wickenbrock from JGU and HIM

Nerve communication in the human body works via electrical charges that rush through the nerve pathways. Every moving charge creates a magnetic field, so there are numerous magnetic fields in the human body, including in the brain. The sensor is intended to detect and analyze these and thus tell the surgeon more about the function of the respective areas of the brain. This allows doctors to plan the course of the incision more precisely and in a more patient-friendly manner.

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Mainz University

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