Christoph Pfeiffer

Head of Unit

christoph.pfeiffer@ki.se

Daniel Lundqvist

Scientific Director

daniel.lundqvist@ki.se

NatMEG: 

National Facility for Magnetoencephalography


About

NatMEG is a core facility as well as national facility.

NatMEG is the first and only research laboratory in Sweden for whole-head measurements of neuronal brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG). The lab was inaugurated in October 2013, and is one out of only 200 active MEG labs worldwide. As a national facility, NatMEG is available for researchers from all across Sweden.

Visit the NatMEG external website here. 


NatMEG not only provides access to the superbly equipped MEG lab, but also provides training and support to users in experimental design, piloting, measurements and analysis. A full scanning service is available.

Make lab reservations here.


Equipment

1. The core system: a state-of-the-art MEGIN TRIUX 306-channel MEG scanner with integrated 128-channel EEG for simultaneous measurement. The scanner includes 12 biochannels (bipolar channels, for recording of EOG, ECG, and EMG), 32 digital trigger channels and 24 analog input channels that are recorded along with the MEG and EEG data. The scanner is currently the only whole-head MEG system in Sweden.


2. In January 2024, a second whole-head MEG system – a Fieldline Inc. 128 OPM-sensor HEDSCAN on-scalp MEG scanner – will be installed at NatMEG. On-scalp MEG promises improved sensitivity and spatial precision compared to traditional cryogenic MEG. The system uses 128 novel optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) sensors and will be the first of its kind in the world. It includes 32 digital trigger channels, 8 bipolar analog input and 8 bipolar output channels that are recorded along with the MEG data. Due to the flexibility of OPMs the sensors can also be used to record other electrophysiological signals such as magntocardiography (MCG), magnetomyography (MMG) and magnetoretinography (MRG).


3. All MEG recordings are done inside a Vacuumschmelze GmbH Ak3B magnetically shielded room (MSR) with 2 high-permeability layers. The inside dimensions of the MSR are approximately 3m x 4m x 2.5m.


4. NatMEG is equipped with state-of-the-art, MEG-compatible stimulation equipment including but not limited to

  1. 120 fps DLP projector (Projection Design FL35 LED)
  2. EyeLink1000 binocular eye tracker from SR Research. The tracker measures X, Y and pupil diameter of each eye and can be recorded along with the MEG data.
  3. sound tubes (KAR Audio ADU1c) and piezoelectric speakers (PanPhonics SSHP60X60W)
  4. Electric nerve stimulators (DeMeTec SCG30)
  5. Olfactormeter (9-channel, Monell)
  6. Tactile stimulator (Biomagnetic Technologies 4-channel Somatosensory Stimulus System )
  7. Proprioceptive stimulators (custom build 5-channel PAM system for finger and foot stimulation)
  8. A high-resolution Einscan H structured-light 3D scanner can be used for on-scalp MEG co-registration 
  9. A Flashforge Guider 2s 3D printer for prototyping custom scanner casts and stimulus equipment.