The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has recently acquired a new magnetoencephalography (MEG) machine to advance research and clinical care for patients. UAB was one of the first medical centers in the country to obtain a MEG machine in 2001, but with evolving technology, the old machine needed to be replaced.
MEG technology measures the magnetic fields from the brain’s nerve cells to analyze their function, providing insight into brain abnormalities and normal brain functions like speaking, hearing, and seeing. The new machine at UAB Hospital is noninvasive, making it safer for patients of all ages, including children, and offers measurements of brain activity at milliseconds’ time resolution.
The benefits of the new MEG machine extend to epilepsy surgeries, where surgeons can use the results to identify seizure onset zones for more precise operations. Additionally, the machine can be used for functional brain mapping to pinpoint areas important for language, sensory, and motor functions.
Moreover, the MEG technology has potential applications in research for predicting disease outcomes, studying child development, learning new languages, and understanding conditions like traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease. The addition of the new MEG machine at UAB offers enhanced research opportunities and the potential to improve patient care through translational findings.
Overall, the acquisition of the new MEG machine at UAB demonstrates the institution’s commitment to advancing neurological research and providing state-of-the-art care for patients with brain-related conditions.
Source
Photo credit www.uab.edu
