A £902,000 investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will expand the healthcare capabilities of Q-BIOMED, directly translating quantum research into clinical applications. The funding, an additional £13.8 million to existing funding for the UK’s National Quantum Research Hubs announced in March, will support six targeted work packages and forge partnerships with five new academic collaborators. A key focus will be a “clinical needs mapping exercise” undertaken with UCLPartners, designed to pinpoint areas where quantum sensing can demonstrably improve patient care; the collaboration aims to develop “a clinically grounded view of where quantum sensing technologies have the greatest potential to add value,” across diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. By prioritizing clinical needs before technological development, Q-BIOMED intends to ensure quantum sensing innovations are both technically feasible and valuable within the National Health Service.
Clinical Needs Mapping for Quantum Sensing Applications
Healthcare innovation is increasingly driven by a proactive effort to define clinical challenges before seeking technological solutions. Q-BIOMED, supported by a £902,000 award from EPSRC’s Accelerating Capability Fund, is leading this approach with a dedicated focus on mapping clinical needs for quantum sensing applications. This investment directly supports the expansion of healthcare quantum sensing capabilities and represents a deliberate shift towards problem-focused research, rather than technology-push development. The emphasis on practical application extends beyond simply identifying needs; the project aims to ensure innovations are not only technically possible, but practical and valuable in NHS care. This commitment to real-world adoption is further reinforced through new academic partnerships, including work at the University of Glasgow to explore time-resolved singlet oxygen luminescence detection (TSOLD).
Researchers there will leverage expertise in advanced photon counting to measure singlet oxygen concentration, a crucial step in biochemical reactions, potentially leading to advancements in laser medicine and water treatment. Similarly, collaboration with the University of Sussex will focus on optimizing optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) for sleep neurophysiology, aiming to establish a practical, minimal-hardware pathway to quantum-enabled sleep analysis. Ultimately, this systematic approach seeks to translate fundamental quantum research into clinically relevant tools and techniques, maximizing impact on healthcare outcomes.
TSOLD Integration for Singlet Oxygen Detection in Biotechnology
The pursuit of increasingly sensitive biochemical measurements is driving innovation in quantum sensing, with researchers now focused on adapting techniques like time-resolved singlet oxygen luminescence detection (TSOLD) for use in biotechnology applications. Currently, measuring singlet oxygen, a reactive oxygen species crucial in many biological processes, relies on methods with limitations in sensitivity and precision, hindering detailed analysis of biochemical reactions and the development of advanced therapies. Q-BIOMED is actively addressing this gap by forging new collaborations to enhance its capabilities in this area, drawing on internationally recognized expertise in advanced photon counting. A key component of this effort is a partnership with researchers at the University of Glasgow, aiming to leverage TSOLD for a deeper understanding of singlet oxygen generation. This work package will explore the capacity of novel organic photosensitizers in diverse environments, from simple solutions to complex biological media.
The anticipated outcome is a comprehensive library of singlet oxygen lifetimes for both clinical and innovative metal-free photosensitizers, paving the way for integration with other quantum sensing modalities, such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) diamond nanoparticles. This integration promises to create advanced singlet oxygen dosimetry instrumentation with applications spanning laser medicine, water treatment, and chemical synthesis. Researchers envision a future where TSOLD is used in combination with other quantum sensing techniques to create more powerful diagnostic tools. Project documentation explains that this is a direct method of measuring singlet oxygen concentration, a reactive oxygen species which is an essential intermediate step in biochemical reactions. The collaborative effort also includes researchers from Heriot-Watt, solidifying the multidisciplinary approach. This strategic investment of £902,000 from EPSRC, representing an additional £13.8 million to existing funding for UK quantum technologies, underscores the growing recognition of quantum sensing’s potential to revolutionize healthcare by providing tools for more precise and informative measurements at the molecular level.
By combining the sensitivity of spin-enhanced biosensing with the versatility of molecular spin systems, we hope to open up highly sensitive, multiplexed tests with broad applicability across biomarkers which can be readily integrated into existing platforms, including solution-based assays.
OPM Optimization for Real-time Sleep Neurophysiology
Researchers at UCL have shown that we can interpret the contents of sleep with high precision using contrastive learning on electroencephalography (EEG) data. Having already developed a real-time sleep-decoding system capable of tracking discrete sleep stages and outperforming existing automated approaches, the team is now collaborating with the University of Sussex to establish a practical, minimal-hardware pathway to quantum-enabled sleep analysis. This new project leverages an OPM platform developed at Sussex, aiming to detect and characterize sleep neurophysiology signals with enhanced sensitivity. The initial proof-of-concept study will use a small number of OPMs (1 to 3) to monitor brain activity during sleep. This focused approach is designed to determine if increasing sensor bandwidth and tailoring optimization to specific applications can reveal additional biomarkers, potentially broadening the scope of sleep studies to include clinical contexts.
Researchers anticipate these insights will be particularly valuable in follow-on investigations of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, where subtle changes in sleep patterns can be early indicators of disease progression. The team hopes to move beyond simply categorizing sleep stages, towards a more nuanced understanding of the underlying neurological processes. This work package represents a strategic effort to translate fundamental quantum research into practical healthcare applications. The project’s design prioritizes feasibility and minimal invasiveness, seeking to create a system that can be readily integrated into existing sleep monitoring protocols. Indicating a pragmatic approach to implementation, the researchers intend to generate evidence supporting the potential of higher bandwidth and application-specific sensor optimization, ultimately aiming to broaden the scope of sleep studies and improve diagnostic capabilities for complex neurological conditions.
Together, we will develop a clinically grounded view of where quantum sensing technologies have the greatest potential to add value, across diagnosis, monitoring and treatment, and where they do not offer a clear advantage over existing or emerging approaches.
OPM Field Probes Enhance 7T MRI Resolution
Advancements in magnetic resonance imaging are delivering greater detail in brain scans, thanks to the integration of optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) as field probes within 7 Tesla (7T) MRI systems. Clinical research into brain disorders has long been constrained by achievable spatial resolution; however, ultra-high-field MRI at 7T already visualises sub-millimetre structures, offering key insights into conditions like epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Researchers are now aiming to push beyond current limits, with the potential to achieve cortical columnar imaging, a level of detail that could unlock new understanding of disease mechanisms and progression. The challenge lies in the distortions introduced by the strong and rapidly varying magnetic field gradients required for ultra-high-resolution imaging. To address this, a collaborative effort is underway between Q-BIOMED and researchers at the University of Cambridge, building on proof-of-concept work demonstrated by a team in Copenhagen and commercialised through Magnolia Quantum Sensing.
This partnership will establish OPM-based field-probe scanning, offering a continuous actual gradient readout during scans. According to source material, the recent installation of a 7T Terra.X MRI in Cambridge creates a significant opportunity for mesoscopic (<0.5 mm) human brain imaging. Crucially, the project will adopt a fully open-source approach, utilising Pulseq sequences and BART image reconstruction, so these advances can benefit participants in all UK ultra-high field MRIs. This commitment to accessibility aims to lower the barrier to entry for best-in-class neuroimaging sequences and establish a foundation for the forthcoming National 11.7T MRI. This work represents a significant step towards realising the full potential of 7T MRI for detailed neurological investigation and improved patient outcomes.
