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It is clear, even without the benefit of hindsight, that the rise of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines in the medical science industry was absolutely world-changing. These highly complex machines were part of a wider tapestry of progress that has seen life expectancies increase across major economies, and, once untreatable conditions now far better understood.
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Disclaimer: This article is disseminated in partnership with Compumedics Ltd. It is intended to inform investors and should not be taken as financial advice.
MRI machines allowed for greater understanding of arthritic conditions, brain function, organ function, cancer growth, and other afflictions still prevalent today.
And it goes without saying: In the 1980s, when MRI was first becoming adopted by medical practitioners broadly, a wise investment in that emerging technology at the time would have returned more than just dividends in ’25.
So, the question then becomes – what similar game-changing technologies are out there, on the cusp of development, and potentially about to rewrite the medical industry’s understanding of the human body?
Enter ASX-listed Compumedics Ltd (ASX:CMP), a biotech company developing its Orion Lifespan MEG product leveraging Magnetoencephalography, or MEG – which could just be the next big breakthrough in imaging tech, similar perhaps in its current form to the early days of MRI advancement.
What is Magnetoencephalography?
Before we look at Compumedics and consider its status as an ASX-listed company in the medtech space, to truly understand the company’s significant value proposition, it’s worth considering just how potentially disruptive Magnetoencephalography technology can be to currently dominant alternatives.
The foremost obvious benefit to patients who may be provided the chance to elect an MEG brain scan over older types of scans is that MEG is completely non-invasive. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans require patients to ingest a radioactive isotope solution, which, while generally tolerated in most modern medical settings by patients, still poses obvious risks.
EEG requires messy and uncomfortable electrodes. MRI requires the patient be exposed to strong magnetic fields and loud banging noises. In contrast, MEG is silent, contactless, and does not send out any rays or fields; it’s purely a measurement of naturally occurring magnetic fields.
More than just non-invasive
But radiation and other risks aren’t the only superiority MEG scans boast over alternatives. MEG scans can actually offer better mapping of the brain compared to MRI, PET, etc., which ultimately provides just a static image or a measure of blood oxygenation.
MEG scans, however, offer superior temporal resolution (read: a doctor can see the actual function of a patient’s brain in real time), given they measure the magnetic fields produced by the human brain itself.
(Humans missed out on geomagnetic sensory perceptions, but we know that many animals, from homing pigeons to bats and sharks, are likely able to perceive magnetic fields in the environment, which quite literally proliferate in the world all around us, but are invisible to primates.)
And, as a plus, the tests are quick, producing results in very short timeframes, meaning patients don’t need to linger in hospital; boosting medical workplace efficiency.
Breaking it down further
For those who may or may not need a one-paragraph crash course in modern neuroscience consensus: The brain is made up of billions and billions of nerves – technically neurons – connected by synapses. These synapses are basically organic circuits through which small amounts of electricity produced by the brain travel; this means, in turn, the brain ultimately produces its own magnetic field. That is what MEG scans measure.
Scientists first measured the brain’s magnetic field around 60 years ago, and MEG technology has been increasingly making leaps and bounds since. Scans are performed with a helmet-like array that includes a large number of extremely sensitive sensors precise enough to pick up the brain’s magnetic fields.
So that’s how MEG works – but what are ASX-listed Compumedics doing with the tech?
Compumedics’ 1Y returns evidence potential
Before we get into recent commercial developments around Compumedics’ monetisation of MEG technology, it’s perhaps worth considering that some eagle-eyed market participants have already sniffed out potential.
Early in December, the company’s 1Y returns were already up just south of +50% YoY with a perhaps-still-undervalued market cap of around $80M, and only 200M shares on issue (half of that tightly held by founder David Burton).
To date, Compumedics has locked in A$25M worth of sales in its Orion LifeSpan MEG product, with the most recent success early last month as the company flagged its fifth sale, this one heading to China’s Beijing Normal University (BNU), located in Haidian and ranked within the top 200 universities globally.
Three of these units are locked in for delivery in FY26, with this fifth system ordered by BNU set for delivery in 2HCY2026; Compumedics reported in November that it maintains a leadership position in the MEG scanning space in Asia broadly.
Also worth considering: Compumedics’ MEG tech boasts an ability to recycle 100% of the supercooled helium the devices need to perform imaging duties; MRI machines similarly require helium, a resource prone to sudden market shortages given a relatively small pool of processing capacity globally.
From China to the FDA: Targeting US markets
Compumedics is banking on two factors: First, growth in the use of MEG scans in medical science broadly (with A$25M of sales underscoring that the tech works and is of real market interest) and secondly, an expansion into U.S. markets.
Worth noting with a view towards Compumedics’ U.S. expansion goals is that its MEG product is already FDA registered and approved – in fact, it has been since 2020, if you wanted more proof the company is overlooked in the biotech space.
And it is towards the U.S. market that the company is launching itself in CY2026, with an American market re-entry on the cards as well as a strategy to continue further penetrating the Asian medical and research markets.
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