Chunqi Qian, Ph.D., associate professor in the MSU Radiology Department with the College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM), is piloting research to develop a wireless, battery-free sensor that can detect early-stage changes in the brain and heart before symptoms become severe.
The sensor can reduce the need for expensive repetitive imaging like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), or it can be complementary by working inside an MRI to correlate signals without disturbing acquisition of the image. The sensor can also be used for remote and continuous monitoring of physiological parameters.
As described in WISDEM: a hybrid wireless integrated sensing detector for simultaneous EEG and MRI, published in Nature Methods, the sensor operates on radiofrequencies by harvesting energy from the ambient environment.
“Our long-term goal is to test them in humans and then to develop wearable, battery-free sensors for human applications, like extracting a complete waveform of the heart rate,” Dr. Qian said.