Innovation primer: quantum healthcare

Quantum technology could be key to transforming healthcare – fortunately, the UK is a world leader. Our National Quantum Strategy aims to build on this strong foundation to promote incorporation of quantum technologies and enhance commercial prospects. To do this, the Strategy sets out a series of ambitious missions – including deploying the world’s most advanced quantum network by 2035, and, in particular, enabling every NHS trust to benefit from quantum sensing-enabled solutions by 2030. Advancements in quantum sensing may therefore play a vital role in shaping the future of healthcare.

Quantum states are very sensitive to the environment. While this creates a challenge for building quantum computers, it is crucial for quantum sensors. Essentially, while this sensitivity is a weakness for a qubit, for sensors it is a strength that can be leveraged: magnetic fields, gravity, temperature, acceleration, and the passage of time can all be measured with high accuracy. For example, atomic clocks are already used as central time keepers that keep the clocks on our phones and computers in line.

Because they use particles as probes, instead of chemical or electrical signals, quantum sensors also boast high precision. They also have traditional sensors beat on spatial resolution – quantum sensors can be as small as a single atom.

In this article, we give an overview on the medical uses of quantum sensing. Of course, quantum technology has a huge impact across a broad range of other fields: to find out more, see our recent article, Quantum Technology: The Future is Here!

 

Revolutionising healthcare with quantum sensors

Quantum sensors are poised to catalyse earlier diagnosis and personalised medicine.

For example, optically pumped atomic magnetometers (OPM) are already transforming magnetic imaging – from the brain (MEG) to the heart (MCG) – to improve diagnosis and monitoring. This is made possible by the enhanced sensitivity of quantum sensors to changes in magnetic fields. Measurements by quantum sensors are also quick and non-invasive, making them ideal for screening and monitoring. For example, an MCG of the heart can be performed through clothing, dispensing with the traditional inconvenience of having to stick pads to a patient’s skin.

At subcellular scales, quantum sensors are transforming medical research. Nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centre-based sensing can be used to image single cells and magnetic biomarkers with subcellular resolution. This can even be harnessed for nanoscale detection of single molecules, allowing individual proteins to be probed. NV sensors can also measure local temperature changes in individual cells, enabling investigation of temperature-dependent cellular processes.

Advances in AI have further catalysed the development of quantum sensors. For example, in traditional positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, 90% of the data is discarded as “scatter”. However, researchers at the University of York are leveraging AI to unlock insights from this data – data that might otherwise have been wasted – by analysing the quantum entanglement of PET photons.

 

Quantum healthcare: the commercial landscape

Companies specialising in brain imaging are already commercialising solutions incorporating OPM-MEG sensors. For example, CercaMagnetics are developing wearable sensor helmets. While traditional MEG sensors require extensive cooling and magnetic shielding, making them cumbersome and often impractical to wear, OPM-MEG sensors can image the brain without such limitations. This unlocks MEG brain imaging for every day, real-world environments. QuSpin are also developing OPM-MEG imaging solutions, with designs that reduce noise and boost performance.

NV sensors also have high commercial value. For example, ODMR Technologies are developing NV-based magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for chemical trace analysis, and NV-based magnetic imaging is harnessed by companies such as Quantum Diamond Technologies and NVision Imaging Technologies for investigating disease biomarkers, molecular analysis and medical imaging.

Future perspective

The UK continues to push ahead as a world leader in Quantum. Thanks to the Government’s commitment to incorporating quantum sensing solutions into the NHS, combined with advances in AI, innovation in quantum sensing is likely to expand at a rapid pace.

At Page White Farrer, we specialise in navigating the complexities of quantum patents to give innovation the protection it deserves. If you are looking to secure your intellectual property, our team is ready to guide you through every step. Please contact Tom Woodhouse with any queries.