Friday, January 5, 2007

Deep TMS Technology by Brainsway

Do you remember our report about the Neurostar System by Neuronetics, a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device being considered by the FDA for the treatment of major depression? If you don't, maybe you need some TMS to restore your memory function. After all, the technology is promoted to be the cure of the future for depression, schizophrenia, migranes, and restoration of peripheral vision status post stroke.

The news now is that the Neurostar System seems to be getting a competitor. Brainsway Ltd., an Israeli start up, has filed for an IPO there, reports Globes [online].

Here's how Brainsway touts its system:

Standard TMS coils are limited to activation of only cortical brain regions, up to a depth of about 1.5 cm. Hence when treating depression with a standard TMS system, the limbic system, which is related to mood regulation and is generally deeper than 1.5 cm, is only indirectly affected, through secondary processes involving cortical structures, which are directly activated by TMS and then affect the deeper limbic system structures.
The unique technology of Brainsway Deep TMS System enables direct non-invasive activation of deep brain structures.

Deep TMS is a breakthrough in the search for a non-invasive approach for treating common brain disorders. Deep TMS uses a unique, patented coil design to produce directed electromagnetic fields that can induce excitation or inhibition of neurons deep inside the brain. The treatment is non-invasive, with no significant side effects, no systemic effect (in contrast to drugs), and no need of hospitalization or anesthesia.

Company site...

Flashbacks: Medgadget's transcranial magnetic stimulation archive...

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replies: 3 comments

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This is interesting. Magnetic fields fall off as the inverse third power of distance-- so you need a really strong magnet to get to deep structures and if you do that, you end up with an overwhelming magnetic field near the shallow structures. The magnetic field induces an electric field in the tissue, and the electric field is what actually activates or inhibits the neurons (c.f. deep brain stimulation.)

I found a US patent application on file for their device (#20060287566) and from my brief reading it seems that they claim their coil shape minimizes the induced electric fields in the shallow region (leaving mostly deep structures stimulated) by canceling out surface charges. I am a little suspicious of this, but I must admit that my E&M is a little too rusty to make any real criticism. Here is to hoping it works!

Posted by: joeyo
on January 6, 2007 09:51 PM GMT

As a former patient who suffered from chronic depression for over twenty years, I am a strong advocate for new depression therapies. The utter despair and hopelessness I experienced was gruesome beyond words. Depression sufferers need all the viable weapons to fight this baffling disease. But we don't need false hope. The deliberations of FDA's Neurological Committee indicate that this very expensive therapy offers false hope, at best.

I was rescued from the grips of this baffling disease thanks to vagus nerve stimulation therapy.

Posted by: Charles E. Donovan
on January 28, 2007 07:40 PM GMT

I think anyone going to your Vagus website instantly finds your objectivity in question.

You wrote a book they promote.

That about says it all for me.

Nice try though.

Posted by: Panama Gringo
on March 18, 2007 04:16 PM GMT

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