MAG4Health – European Spin-Off Pioneering Portable Quantum Brain Imaging
Mag4Health is a Grenoble-based French spin-off (CEA-Leti, 2021) developing a helmet-like optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) system for high-resolution brain imaging[1][2]. Its compact MEG scanner uses a quantum sensor originally built for ESA’s Swarm satellite mission, enabling room-temperature operation and high magnetic sensitivity[3][4]. This breakthrough replaces bulky cryogenic SQUIDs, promising to democratize magnetoencephalography by cutting costs ~5× and eliminating multi-ton cooling systems[5][6]. While Mag4Health’s focus is clinical neuroscience, its European-developed sensor technology – free of reliance on rare-earth or non-allied inputs – may strengthen EU strategic autonomy in high-end instrumentation. This report analyzes Mag4Health through the lens of EU/NATO priorities: autonomy from extra-EU suppliers, interoperability potential, contribution to collective defense, transatlantic alignment, and supply-chain resilience in the context of emerging defense-relevant sensor technologies.