Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have taken a major step forward in using quantum mechanics to enhance sensing devices, a new advancement that could be used in a wide range of areas, including materials characterization, improved imaging and biological and medical applications.

Q.ANT, the leading German startup for light-based data processing and quantum sensing, is unveiling the first prototypes of the Q.M 10, the next generation of its photonic quantum magnetic field sensor. This groundbreaking sensor redefines the way biosignals are captured and processed in medical technology by measuring the tiniest electric currents and magnetic fields in the human body with even greater precision than its predecessor, and without direct contact. By leveraging light as a natural carrier of information, the Q.M 10 gives researchers deeper insights into the body’s biosignals and promises to push the boundaries of medical technology. One example is mind-controlled prosthetics that function almost like natural limbs. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), Q.ANT is developing an innovative prosthetic sensor module, showcasing it at this year’s COMPAMED international trade fair in Düsseldorf, taking place from November 11-14. Visitors can experience a live demonstration at Hall 8a, Booth G10, demonstrating how the Q.M 10 converts emulated muscle signals into precise commands for a hand prosthesis in milliseconds.

Researchers from IBEC and ICFO demonstrate the ability of atomic sensors to non-destructively monitor, measure and optimize nuclear spin hyperpolarization of some clinically relevant molecules in real-time. These features, reported in PNAS, could enhance and reduce costs of quality controls used in clinical magnetic resonance imaging.

The University of Queensland will pioneer quantum sensory methods that could improve the detection of performance-enhancing drugs in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Physicists like to measure things, and they like those measurements to be as precise as possible. That means working at unfathomably small scales, where distances are much smaller than even the diameters of subatomic particles. Researchers also want to measure time down to a precision of less than one second per tens of billions of years. The quest for these ultraprecise measurements in physics is part of a growing field called quantum metrology.

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in collaboration with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Hospital, are developing a new technology for cancer monitoring based on the use of quantum sensors. The project has now been honored with the Medical Valley Award.

Purdue University researchers have developed patent-pending one-dimensional boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) containing spin qubits, or spin defects. The BNNTs are more sensitive in detecting off-axis magnetic fields at high resolution than traditional diamond tips used in scanning probe magnetic-field microscopes.

The new design developed by Dash and the lab of U-M physicist Georg Raithel uses a special kind of laser beam that traps atoms in a pinwheel-shaped geometry, which can be scaled from a 30 micron radius, smaller than the diameter of a human hair, and up to about 10 times larger, about 300 microns. The researchers’ design is published in the journal AVS Quantum Science.

QuantumDiamonds GmbH, a pioneer in quantum sensing technology, announced the release of the QD m.0, the first commercial quantum device designed for semiconductor chip failure analysis. This advanced system utilizes diamond-based quantum microscopy to deliver unprecedented precision in detecting and localizing faults in integrated circuits, meeting the increasing testing demands for heterogeneous integration in modern semiconductor fabrication.

Now, researchers from SUO Liumin’s team and LIU Gangqin’s team from Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Science have developed a quantum sensing approach based on diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers.