摘要：SummaryIn recent years, optically pumped magnetometer (OPM)-based magnetoencephalography (MEG) has shown potential for analyzing brain activity. It has a flexible sensor configuration and comparable sensitivity to conventional SQUID-MEG. We constructed a 32-channel OPM-MEG system and used it to measure cortical responses to median and ulnar nerve stimulations. Traditional magnetic source imaging methods tend to blur the spatial extent of sources. Accurate estimation of the spatial size of the source is important for studying the organization of brain somatotopy and for pre-surgical functional mapping. We proposed a new method called variational free energy-based spatial smoothing estimation (FESSE) to enhance the accuracy of mapping somatosensory cortex responses. A series of computer simulations based on the OPM-MEG showed better performance than the three types of competing methods under different levels of signal-to-noise ratios, source patch sizes, and co-registration errors. FESSE was then applied to the source imaging of the OPM-MEG experimental data.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•A magnetic source imaging approach called FESSE is proposed•FESSE improves the accuracy of source localization and extent estimation•A 32-channel wearable OPM-MEG system is constructed•FESSE is used for mapping somatosensory cortex responses measured by OPM-MEGMedicine; Magnetoencephalography; Neuroscience
