High Current Pulse Generator for the Application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Welcome, we're doing great things here! This project aims to develop a High Current Pulse Generator for the Application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). This technology is used to generate a pulsing magnetic field that can be focused on regions of the brain to treat various brain disorders. TMS has been studied for treatment of brain disorders since the mid 1980's and has been approved for the treatment of depression in the US since 2009. It is currently being researched for treatment of other disorders including schizophrenia and Parkinson's.

At the moment there is a need for a more cost effective and customizable pulse generator for use in basic research. Currently, approved commercial TMS units are very expensive and cannot be used with coils other than the closed, proprietary ones provided by the manufacturer. By building and improving on past research and experimentation in this area, combined with innovations and original design, our team is aiming to meet this need for a robust, lower cost and flexible device that can be used with a variety of coils in a research setting.

This project will help to advance research in an area that has great social significance. Depression and other mental disorders are often treated with medication that causes dependency, is expensive, and has many negative side effects. TMS has already shown great promise in treating depression non-invasively and without medication. Additionally the results of the treatment seem to be fairly persistent, meaning the patient may not need to continue treatments after a few sessions. This technology shows promise for improving lives in a very real way, and we are eager to contribute.