PhD Studentship: Leveraging Quantum Technologies to Develop Transformative Methods for Paediatric and Neonatal Imaging

Project Outline

Brain development in the first two years of life has lifelong consequences for health and well-being, yet technological barriers prevent us from fully understanding early brain function and its role in healthy development and disease. There is no brain-imaging method that allows us to measure infant brain activity with high resolution in both spatial and temporal dimensions. This fundamental problem can now be tackled by capitalising on recent advances in quantum technologies (i.e. Magnetoencephalography with Optically Pumped Magnetometers). OPM-MEG offers unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution and promises lifespan application.

This interdisciplinary PhD project is for students interested in applied physics and neuroscience. The project will tackle current technological challenges to optimise OPM-MEG systems for various age groups of the youngest toddlers and children.

In this PhD project, the candidate will be working in a unique interdisciplinary team, co-supervised by an experimental atomic physicist and quantum sensor developer, Dr Anna Kowalczyk, and a developmental neuroscientist, Dr Barbara Pomiechowska, at Birmingham BabyLab, in collaboration with an industrial partner, FieldLine Inc., which manufactures wearable OPM-MEG devices. This project will unlock brand-new ways to study brain function in early childhood, delivering transformative tools for clinical practice and discovery neuroscience.

The main goal of this project will be the optimisation of OPM arrays and OPM sensor parameters for infant OPM-MEG. It will start by optimising infant headgear designs for existing commercial OPM sensors, based on brain anatomy and correlated brain noise, including sensor number and layout required for best source reconstruction. Next, new models will be developed to optimise OPM-MEG sensors by changing the physical parameters of the sensing element (e.g. atomic density, dimensions). Other OPM types and configurations will be explored (scalar, vector, gradiometers) to design the next generation of OPM-MEG sensors tailored to paediatric applications.

The project will be supervised by Dr Anna Kowalczyk and Dr Barbara Pomiechowska. 

Additional Funding Information

The project is funded by an EPSRC Collaborative DTP Scholarship. Funding for international students may be available (depending on the number of overall candidates). 

To apply please fill in this application form: https://forms.gle/3c52o8bnrCuLpzLq7 via the above ‘Apply’ button.

Closing Date: 21st May 2025

Interviews are scheduled for 28th of May.

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