Rosetrees is proud to partner with The National Brain Appeal through their Innovation Fund, which seed-funds cutting-edge projects to improve diagnosis, treatment, and care for people with neurological conditions. One project we support is led by Dr Tim Tierney (UCL), Senior Research Fellow, developing a low-cost brain imaging system to make epilepsy surgery more accessible and successful.

Epilepsy affects 600,000 people in the UK, with poorly controlled cases resulting in 100,000 hospital admissions each year. For patients who do not respond to medication, surgery can offer long-term relief—but current imaging technology requires expensive, shielded rooms that no UK hospital has. Dr Tierney’s system works without a £1m shielded room, using a lightweight copper-wire frame and sensors to cancel out magnetic interference, costing less than £50,000.

The team has also developed software tools to improve imaging quality, published their methods, secured intellectual property, and formed commercial partnerships. In-human testing is underway, with plans to extend the system beyond epilepsy into Alzheimer’s disease, and explore miniaturisation for portable use.

Through this partnership, Rosetrees is proud to help bring innovative brain imaging technology closer to the patients who need it, improving care and outcomes for people with epilepsy.

Learn more: Better treatment for epilepsy patients – The National Brain Appeal