Dr. Arjan Hillebrand (pictured), Associate Professor at the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, discusses the benefits of MEG technology in research aiding the differential diagnosis of dementia.
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive brain imaging technique that provides real-time, highly detailed measurements of brain activity, using magnetic fields generated by electric currents in the brain. MEG technology provides accurate data around the location of neuronal activity on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis.
MEG systems are designed with patients’ comfort in mind; they are entirely silent and do not require applying magnetic fields, radiation, or injections of any kind. The technology has also recently been adopted for use in dementia studies, and the comfort of MEG scans is particularly important for subjects suffering from memory problems.
At the Amsterdam University Medical Centres (Amsterdam UMC), MEG scans have been implemented into the memory clinic, following the growing need for accurate and early diagnostic decision making preferably supported by non-invasive tools.
People with cognitive complaints who present themselves at the memory clinic undergo a standard set of diagnostic tests, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination, MRI, neurophysiological examination, as well as EEG or MEG. Most patients also consent to the data from these technologies being used for research purposes in the search for effective treatments, which is how MEG technology is being used. The outcome of these diagnostic investigations supports the research finding of the neurologist during the diagnostic multidisciplinary meeting.
Prevalent diagnoses are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, or psychiatric disorders.
The memory clinic at Amsterdam UMC undertakes clinical research on various aspects of dementia including its prevalence in younger people, and the development of new diagnostic, prognostic and outcome markers in therapeutic trials.
Research conducted at the Amsterdam UMC has shown that MEG technology can be used successfully with dementia research subjects and has shown to support the differential diagnosis of individuals with dementia – highlighting the potential for MEG technology to be used more widely in clinical settings.
Dr Arjan’s colleague, clinical neurophysiologist Dr. Alida Gouw, adds that from a clinician’s perspective, MEG also has a significant advantage in spatio-temporal accuracy compared to other brain imaging technologies, like fMRI or EEG. Compared to EEG, MEG technology provides greater accuracy of source localisation especially for deeper brain regions, such as the hippocampus, a region specifically affected in Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, it has a much higher temporal resolution than fMRI, so that it can detect 
the subtle changes in neuronal activity that are characteristic of different types of dementia. This means that MEG can be used to compliment techniques such as MRI, CT and PET, to provide a fuller picture of brain activity of neurological conditions.
Research emerging from the memory clinic at Amsterdam UMC highlights the prospect of implementing MEG technology in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions.
Ultimately, the research conducted at the Amsterdam UMC shows the power of combining both technology with research to support patients. To be able to further understand diseases such as dementia and develop treatments that provide a better quality of life for patients, we need to see a range of technologies being used more widely.
