Earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending the first day of the Economist’s Commercialising Quantum Global conference in London. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to be out and about again, rubbing shoulders with people interested in all things quantum.

The conference was also a milestone for my colleagues at the Institute of Physics (IOP), which publishes Physics World, because it was there that they announced the winner of the first IOP qBIG Prize for quantum innovation – which is Nottingham-based Cerca Magnetics.

The inaugural winner bagged the £10,000 prize for their development of first wearable magnetoencephalography scanner, which measures human brain function in health and disease. The prize recognizes small and medium-sized companies that are taking quantum technology products or solutions to market. It is sponsored by Quantum Exponential, which is the UK’s first enterprise venture capital fund focused on quantum technology. The prize also includes access to Quantum Exponential’s business network as well as support from the IOP’s quantum-industry networks and access to its Accelerator workspace in central London.

The IOP also announced two runners up, which will also benefit from greater support from the IOP. These are Aquark Technologies and Quantopticon.

There is much more about Cerca Magnetics in this Physics World feature article by medical-imaging researcher Hannah Coleman and Matthew Brookes, who is chairman of the company.