Latest news with #brainimaging
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Researchers beamed light through a man's head for the first time
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Researchers have discovered a new way to image the brain, and it has also led to a first for scientists. According to a new paper published this year, researchers at the University of Glasgow were able to beam light through a person's head for the first time. The process is extremely promising as a non-invasive brain imaging technique. Currently, if you want to peer deep into someone's brain, you need a massive, bulky MRI machine like those found in many large hospitals. While this is fine for most cases, it doesn't leave much room for portability. However, that could soon change. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 According to new research published in the journal Neurophotonics this month, scientists have found a way to beam light all the way through the human head. It's an intriguing development, especially since it allows for the near infrared laser to pass through all of the brain tissue, bone, and neurons. While promising for a non-invasive brain imaging process, it's still a long way from being viable. That's because despite being tested on eight different individuals, the process only worked on one person: a man with no hair and fair skin. This shows that while it's possible to send near infrared lasers through the body safely, there are some other issues that will need to be addressed to make it truly viable as an option for medical professionals. Still, this process is very promising, especially since the researchers found that the light didn't randomly scatter through the brain. Instead, it actually followed preferred paths, which should allow for more accurate viewing depending on the position of the person's head and the light source. The obvious benefit here is that near infrared systems can be a lot more portable than typical MRI units. So, if they are able to expand on this non-invasive brain imaging system, they could end up with a solid way to image the brain even when a bulky MRI system isn't available. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while before that's possible. But combined with other advances in medicine, this new process could be key to finding signs of brain diseases and other brain-related symptoms that can be tough to spot without a full MRI. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Beamed Light Right Through a Man's Head For The First Time
Scientists have developed a new technique for non-invasive brain imaging – and it involves shining light all the way through the head, from one side to the other. Currently the best portable, low-cost method for monitoring the brain is functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Unfortunately, this can only penetrate a few centimeters down, meaning bigger, bulkier MRI machines are needed to probe deeper layers of the brain. A new method, developed by a team from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, expands the sensitivity of fNIRS to shine light all the way through the complex combinations of bone, neurons, and tissue that make up our heads. Doing so required a few tweaks: the researchers increased the strength of the near-infrared laser (within safe boundaries, of course), while also putting in place a more comprehensive collection setup. Even with these adjustments, only a small trickle of photons made it from one side of the head to the other during experiments. However, it's a promising start for portable imaging methods that go deeper, giving us crucial insight into what's happening inside our skulls without opening them up. "These findings uncover the potential to extend non-invasive light based on brain imaging technologies to the tomography of critical biomarkers deep in the adult human head," write the researchers in their published paper. There are quite a number of caveats to mention here. The process was only successful with one out of eight study participants: a man with fair skin and no hair on his head. It needs a very specific setup, and an extended scanning time – around 30 minutes. Those limitations are all acknowledged by the researchers, but they sacrificed certain variables (such as speed) to try and prove that it was possible to get light all the way through a human head via fNIRS – and they succeeded. Computer models based on detailed 3D head scans were used to predict the movement of photons through the skull. These matched up closely with the actual light collected, adding further credibility to the results. What's more, the research also found that light didn't scatter at random through the head, but rather followed preferred paths – including through parts that were more transparent, like those filled with cerebrospinal fluid. That knowledge could help brain scans be better targeted in the future. "Different source positions on the head can then selectively isolate and probe deep regions of the brain," write the researchers. The advantages of fNIRS are that it's a relatively inexpensive and compact technology. Imagine scans for strokes, brain injuries, and tumors that are more accessible for a wider range of people. As future imaging devices are developed, this research should prove useful for techniques that go deeper into the brain – even if it might be a while before we can get light through the entire head in a timeframe that's practically useful. We know that brain scans have tremendous value in everything from understanding adolescence in youngsters to treating disease towards the end of our lives, so there's a huge amount of potential here. "Optical modalities for noninvasive imaging of the human brain hold promise to fill the technology gap between cheap and portable devices such as electroencephalography (EEG) and expensive high-resolution instruments such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)," write the researchers. The research has been published in Neurophotonics. The Sad Case of The World's Youngest-Ever Alzheimer's Diagnosis Compound That Turns People Yellow Could Protect Against Malaria Scientists May Have Finally Figured Out How Bats Avoid Cancer
CTV News
19-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
A Canadian first at The Royal
The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre unveils a new brain imaging platform. CTV's Kimberley Fowler says it could help understand mental illness, addiction.
CTV News
19-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Major investment for The Royal Clinical Brain Research Centre to understand mental illness, addiction
The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre unveiled one of the world's most advanced brain imaging technology to better understand mental illness and addiction. (Kimberley Fowler/ CTV News Ottawa) On Thursday, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre unveiled one of the world's most advanced brain imaging technology to better understand mental illness and addiction. It's a state-of-the-art neuroimaging platform, promising to put Canada at the forefront of global brain research. In partnership with Brain Canada, The Royal is announcing a $1.9 million grant to launch a first-of-its-kind brain imaging platform in Canada, giving researchers a new look inside the brain and creating the opportunity to transform mental health research. Brain Canada president and CEO, Dr. Viviane Poupon says: 'I'm a neuroscientist by training, so for me to see the future of neuroscience, the breakthroughs that are going to happen, and building capacity for the researchers, for me is always amazing.' 'We're super excited to get to continue to grow this facility,' said Katie Dinelle, The Royal's administrative director of the Clinical Brain Research Centre. 'It has been here since 2016, and this is a big 'next step' for us.' The state-of-the-art neuroimaging platform allows researchers to scan the brain three ways at once. An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) provides detailed images of the brain, a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) acts a radioactive tracer to show brain activity and function, and an EEG (Electroencephalography) to measure electrical activity in the brain in real time. Only three teams in the world use this brain scanning technology for an unprecedented look at how the brain works. 'The idea with this grant is to combine all three of those imaging modalities to give us a very whole picture of the brain,' said Dinelle. Dr. Georg Northoff, senior scientist at The Royal and Psychiatry professor at the University of Ottawa says 'with depression you're extremely sad, you have anxiety disorders, also your sense of self can be very different, or you see yourself only as negative. So, understanding the basic mental brain-mind connection for basic mental features also implies that we can learn something from mental disorders.' The multi-modal imaging will also help researchers improve diagnostics and personalized treatments for mental health patients.
