Company · Nottingham
Wearable brain scanning is Cerca Magnetics' business: it sells OPM-MEG systems, in which helmets of optically pumped magnetometers read the brain's magnetic fields while the wearer moves, alongside magnetically shielded rooms. The firm was spun out of the University of Nottingham with Magnetic Shields Ltd and is registered at Nottingham Science and Technology Park. In November 2025 it won £1,488,588 from Innovate UK's Quantum Sensing Mission Primer to plan a route to clinical use, and in December 2025 it was building a mobile MEG scanner for a Ministry of Defence study of blast exposure in service personnel. It is also a partner in the QuSIT hub.
Cerca Magnetics, based in Nottingham, is a company whose work covers cryogenics, quantum components and quantum control; it was founded in 2020. It is a partner in 3 UK projects: QuSIT, Quantum Sensing Mission Primer and Quantum Catalyst Fund. People profiled here include David Woolger (CEO) and Matthew Brookes (Non-Executive Chairman).
Sources: Cerca Magnetics · GOV.UK: Government support to get quantum to work faster (7 November 2025) · Companies House: Cerca Magnetics Limited · Quantum Zeitgeist: Mobile brain scanner to study blast exposure effects · QuSIT hub on Gateway to Research (EP/Z533166/1)
QuSIT
A national research hub for quantum sensing, imaging and timing, led by the University of Birmingham.
Role: Partner
Funding: £22m
Themes: Sensing, Imaging, Timing and navigation
Quantum Sensing Mission Primer
Innovate UK contracts for 14 projects building quantum sensors and position, navigation and timing products, run as phase 1 of the sensing missions.
Role: Partner
Funding: £14m
Themes: Sensing, Timing and navigation, Imaging
Quantum Catalyst Fund
A £15 million SBRI competition, funded by DSIT and Innovate UK, to help the public sector adopt quantum solutions.
Role: Partner
Funding: £15m
Themes: Computing, Sensing, Imaging, Timing and navigation
Recent articles from Quantum Zeitgeist that mention Cerca Magnetics.
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Company data from Entangled Future. News from Quantum Zeitgeist. Last checked 2 October 2026.
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