A compressed sequence for rapid evaluation of brain function using magnetoencephalography (MEG): Development of the Halifax Consciousness Scanner (HCS)

Concussions - once thought to be minor, temporary "bumps to the head" - have recently been revealed to havenegative long-term impact on people's mental and emotional functioning. While concussed athletes were onceencouraged to get back to play as soon as possible, we now recognize that it is critical to wait for recoverybefore sending a player back out. Premature return to play, and subsequent injury, can have even greaterlong-term consequences than a single concussion. In this and other settings, it is important to be able toaccurately diagnose a concussion in the first place, and to be able to determine when sufficient recovery hasoccurred to allow the person to resume normal activities. Currently there is no fast, proven method for doingthis. The Halifax Consciousness Scanner (HCS) developed by Mindful Scientific Inc. is a device that canaccomplish this goal. The HCS is a portable brain imaging test that can be performed in approximately 5minutes using a rapid sequence of auditory tones and words. The HCS has shown promise in early testing,allowing assessment of 5 aspects of cognitive brain function using a small number of EEG electrodes attachedto the scalp. However, an important step in the validation of this technology is to calibrate it with other brainimaging measures that have better ability to localize where in the brain each of these 5 signals is coming from.In the present project, we will use magneto encephalography (MEG) - a technique with higher spatialresolution than EEG-to achieve this. While not feasible as a portable, field-based consciousness assessment,MEG will aid in the validation and further refinement of the HCS, as well as opening up a new avenue ofproduct research for Mindful Scientific for hospital-based consciousness assessment.