Imagine trying to watch a lightning storm through frosted glass — you can see the flashes but not exactly where they strike. That's the problem with current brain imaging: you either get good pictures of brain structure (like an MRI) or you track brain signals in real time (like MEG), but combining both accurately has been nearly impossible. BREAKBEN built a system that does both at once, using ultra-low-field MRI together with MEG, so doctors and researchers can see exactly where brain activity happens and what the brain looks like at the same time. They even tested it on real people, not just in a lab.
Current brain imaging forces clinicians and researchers to choose between seeing brain structure (MRI) or tracking brain activity in real time (MEG), but combining both accurately in one workflow has remained unsolved. This limitation slows down diagnosis of neurological conditions, makes brain surgery planning less precise, and adds cost and complexity to clinical trials measuring brain function.
The project built a combined MEG and ultra-low-field MRI system capable of measuring brain structure and neural activity in the same device. Key demonstrated outputs include MEG-MRI imaging performed on healthy human subjects and in vivo current density imaging that maps the electrical conductivity of individual heads, across 8 total deliverables.
If you are a medical device manufacturer dealing with the limitation that your brain scanners either show structure or activity but not both — this project developed a combined MEG-ULF MRI system demonstrated on healthy subjects that could become the basis for a next-generation clinical neuroimaging platform. The consortium of 8 partners across 4 countries validated the technology with in vivo demonstrations.
If you are a pharmaceutical company struggling with imprecise brain imaging during clinical trials for neurological drugs — this project developed imaging methods that pinpoint neural activity with structural context, potentially giving you sharper endpoints for measuring drug effects on brain function. The system was demonstrated on healthy human subjects during the project.
If you are a neurotech company building brain-computer interfaces and need more precise source localization of brain signals — this project broke through a fundamental barrier in electromagnetic neuroimaging by combining MEG with ultra-low-field MRI and conductivity mapping. The EUR 3,998,793 project produced working demonstrations including current density imaging in vivo.
The project was funded with EUR 3,998,793 in EU contribution across 8 partners. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator at Aalto University in Finland. As a publicly funded RIA project, results may be available under favorable academic licensing conditions.
The technology was demonstrated on healthy human subjects, which is a significant milestone, but it remains at a research-prototype stage. Scaling to clinical production would require regulatory approval (CE marking, FDA clearance) and engineering for manufacturability. Based on available project data, no commercial production line has been established yet.
As a Horizon 2020 RIA project, IP generated belongs to the partners who created it, with EU access rights provisions. The consortium includes 2 industry partners alongside 3 universities and 3 research organizations. Specific patents or licensing arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator.
Current clinical practice uses separate MRI and MEG systems that produce data difficult to combine accurately. BREAKBEN's breakthrough is performing both measurements in the same device using ultra-low-field MRI, eliminating the alignment problem. They also added conductivity mapping of individual heads, which improves source localization accuracy.
The project produced 8 deliverables including 2 demonstrations: MEG-MRI tested on healthy subjects and current density imaging demonstrated in vivo. This places the technology beyond lab proof-of-concept but still before clinical validation on patients. Further development is needed before clinical deployment.
Based on available project data, the project focused on the scientific breakthrough rather than regulatory strategy. Any clinical neuroimaging device would need to go through medical device certification. The ultra-low-field approach may actually simplify some safety requirements compared to conventional high-field MRI systems.
The BREAKBEN consortium brings together 8 partners from 4 European countries (Germany, Finland, Italy, Sweden), with a mix of 3 universities, 3 research organizations, and 2 industry partners. The 25% industry ratio is typical for a frontier research project — the heavy academic presence reflects the fundamental science being tackled. Coordinated by Aalto University in Finland, a well-known center for MEG research, the project had no SME involvement, which signals this is still firmly in the research-to-prototype transition rather than a market-driven effort. For a business looking to partner, the 2 industry members would be the natural entry points for understanding commercialization plans.
Aalto University (Aalto Korkeakoulusaatio), Finland — a leading technical university with strong MEG research heritage
Want to explore licensing or partnership opportunities with the BREAKBEN team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right people in the consortium.
