Non-invasive Stimulation for the Brain

February 3, 2012

Developed by the Israeli company Brainsway, the new medical device provides deep-brain electromagnetic stimulation. Maps of our brain's cortex are already well known, says Dr. Avraham Zangen, Brainsway's neuro-consultant, and stimulating specific areas of the brain electromagnetically is easy. Brainsway's new technology, deep TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), takes it to a new level.

“We invented the ability to reach deeper, to reach the relevant brain regions in psychiatric treatment,” he tells ISRAEL21c. Unlike electroshock therapy, the more refined Brainsway stimulates only the area of the cortex related to depression, rather than the whole brain. “We gain the beneficial effect of shock therapy without the side effects,” Zangen explains.

Brainsway's IP is an electromagnetic energy-emitting coil attached to a helmet. The person being treated sits on a chair or couch while wearing the Brainsway helmet for about 15 minutes. Depending on how the coil is shaped and positioned, it can determine what parts of the brain will be stimulated and how intensively. It can be activated at varying frequencies and patterns for therapeutic results over a course of time.

“Here you have an artificial way to make changes in the brain,” Zangen says. For treating depression, a person may need to come to the clinic every day in the beginning. Effects start around week two or three, and maintenance treatments are required to hold the effect for as long as possible, says Zangen.

The first diseases expected to be tackled will be those for which conventional treatments do not work well. Obesity is another area the Brainsway coil could potentially address, as well as autism, stroke, and Parkinson's disease. For more information: [email protected], www.brainsway.com

Source: Excerpts of an article by Karin Kloosterman, www.israel21c.org