What is TMS?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of major depression. It’s called a “noninvasive” procedure because it’s done without using surgery or cutting the skin. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), TMS usually is used only when other depression treatments haven’t been effective.
The FDA also approved TMS for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), migraines and to help people stop smoking when standard treatments haven’t worked well. Research continues into other potential uses for TMS, including epilepsy.
When used for depression, OCD and to stop smoking, this treatment involves delivering repeated magnetic pulses, so it’s called repetitive TMS or rTMS.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Devices
What Are the Components of a TMS Machine?
A TMS machine comprises three key components:
The Chair: Designed for patient comfort, these chairs often have adjustable features to ensure the patient can relax throughout the treatment session.
The Coil: An electromagnetic coil delivers magnetic pulses to target specific brain regions, addressing symptoms of mental disorders.
Magnetic stimulator: Also referred to as the protocol tool. This is the TMS machine’s main unit, operated by a computer that the TMS consultant can use to manage the coil, stimulation protocols, patient data, and treatment reports.
How Do TMS Machines Work?
TMS machines work by using a small electromagnetic coil that’s controlled via a computer program. This coil is placed against the patient’s head and delivers short, powerful bursts of magnetic energy focused precisely on the left side of the brain’s frontal cortex.
TMS machines work in a very similar way to those used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but are almost opposite to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Types of models and their features
