University of Nottingham spin-out, Cerca Magnetics has been placed at 15 in the highly regarded Sunday Times 100 Tech 2026, which ranks Britain's fastest-growing private technology companies.
The University of Nottingham spinout, which developed and sells some of the world's most advanced instrumentation for human brain imaging, is included for increasing sales nearly 107 per cent annually for the last three years.
Sales of Cerca's lightweight wearable brain scanner reached £6.4m in 2024. The scanner interrogates neural activity with unprecedented accuracy. It can be used to probe conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and dementia,
This important recognition comes as we grow our global market and expand the range of applications that our technology can impact. The Cerca scanner is without peer, combining technological advances with engineered robustness and affordability, to transform neuroscientific knowledge."
The company has sold its systems to leading neuroscience centres in 12 countries, with customers in north America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. The scanner is currently on the approval pathway for clinical use, including in the UK and USA. It is being used by clinicians based at Gt Ormond Street Hospital as part of a major research project into epilepsy.
The Cerca Magnetics OPM-MEG scanner uses the principles of magnetoencephalography (MEG), which measure neural activity via detection of magnetic fields produced by electrical currents in the brain.
These fields are measured using newly developed quantum sensors called optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs). The sensors are lightweight and integrated into a wearable "helmet" that moves with the head. This makes it possible to study brain activity in people as they move naturally and carry out everyday tasks. The wearable system is also adaptable to scan children.
Data from the scanner show neurons firing in real time, which will also benefit research into concussion. Cerca was recently awarded a £2.8m contract to develop and build the world's first mobile OPM-MEG scanner for the UK Ministry of Defence where it will be used to assess blast exposure on military personnel.
Cerca Magnetics was founded in 2020 with support from the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme.
Quantum technologies have revolutionised what is possible with brain imaging. Ten years ago, measuring MEG signals in people as they move around freely, whilst wearing what is essentially a hat, seemed like science fiction. Now, it's possible and opening up new worlds of research, particularly related to the developing brain in the early years of life.
