Sensing the Body, Quantumly: NV-Diamond & OPM-MEG Meet AI
A technician fastens a prototype wearable MEG on a volunteer. These wearables contain biosensors and optically-pumped magnetometers (OPMs) to detect magnetic fields, in order to measure brain function and improve our understanding of neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Credit: Cerca Magnetics / University of Nottingham
Quantum-enabled bio-sensing is getting practical; AI will make the data useful
The most interesting AI × quantum story for wearables isn’t a headset rendering trick; it’s better biosignals. Two quantum sensor families are moving from labs toward deployable systems: nitrogen-vacancy (NV) diamond magnetometers and optically pumped magnetometers (OPM) for wearable magnetoencephalography or MEG. They promise room-temperature, highly sensitive measurements of brain and heart activity without cryogenics—exactly the kind of calmer data streams that downstream AI loves.
On the NV side, recent work reports sub-10 pT/√Hz sensitivities at low frequencies (5–100 Hz)—right where cardiac and some neural rhythms live. Teams are also demonstrating fibreised NV probes and sunlight-driven NV configurations that simplify optics and power, edging closer to portable instruments. These are not marketing slides; they are peer-reviewed advances that chip away at SWaP (size, weight and power) and manufacturability.
On the OPM front, multiple groups have built whole-head, wearable MEG with room-temperature OPMs, published head-to-head comparisons with SQUID MEG, and piloted naturalistic tasks—participants moving or even dancing while being scanned. Clinical-facing reviews argue OPM-MEG can push into epilepsy, dementia and developmental-disorder biomarkers because the sensors sit close to the scalp and support motion tolerance. Commercialisation is underway via Cerca Magnetics and others, which matters to hospital buyers who need vendor roadmaps, not prototypes.
Why does AI matter here? Quantum sensors yield richer but messier data—ambient fields, motion artefacts, variable coupling. AI excels at denoising, artefact removal and pattern classification, turning raw magnetometer streams into decision-grade features. For example, OPM-MEG pipelines combine spatial filters with machine-learning classifiers to derive network-level markers; NV cardiac sensing could pair with AI beat-quality grading and arrhythmia detection when SNR is marginal. The result isn’t “quantum AI in a box” but a hybrid stack: quantum sensor → AI signal conditioning → classical models for diagnosis/workflows.
Commercially, start with bounded use-cases where today’s tech already strains: mobile epilepsy monitoring, neuro rehab feedback, operator fatigue in safety-critical jobs, or quiet-room cardiac screening. Position quantum-enabled wearables as adjacent to existing tools: an OPM-MEG cap that complements EEG; an NV-based patch that augments ECG in environments with heavy electrical noise. Hospitals and occupational-health buyers will fund pilots that reduce false positives or extend coverage in settings where current devices fail.
Go-to-market should emphasise ecosystem readiness: (1) PQC-hardened transport for long-lived health streams (see Apple PQ3/Signal PQXDH for patterns buyers recognise); (2) regulatory-friendly AI with quality-grading and explainable artefact flags; (3) service packs—calibration, magnetic hygiene surveys, and data governance templates. Publish validation data that clinicians can trust, and map your pipeline to established guidance (crypto-agility plans via NCSC/ETSI; hybrid TLS drafts for network teams).
Risks are prosaic and solvable: field stability, motion, and supply chains for diamond chips or OPMs. Buyers will expect before/after deltas—minutes to set up, quality metrics across patient cohorts, uptime in busy clinics. Your advantage over legacy sensors is less magic than practicality: room-temperature operation, mobile workflows, and AI-assisted data that a resident—not just a specialist—can interpret.
In short: quantum sensing is giving AI better raw material. Package it with post-quantum security and clinician-grade workflows, and the “quantum wearable” stops being sci-fi and starts being a line item.
