TMS

Background:

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a clinical procedure used to treat patients with neurological disorders and mental diseases when verbal and/or drug therapy is deemed ineffective. By utilizing Faraday's Laws of Induction, TMS rewires the brain's neural network "turning on" the parts of the brain that were previously "turned off" through the use of action potentials being fired. As current runs through a coil, a magnetic field is generated; by gathering the magnetic field and focusing it on one part of the brain, the magnetic field can stimulate the firing of action potentials thus activating the brain.

Unfortunately, TMS is not a widely researched or funded treatment and therefore is not available through all clinical offices. Due to the limited clinics that offer the treatment, patients whom choose to undergo the treatment must take time off work to travel to the clinic, while others opt out of the treatment all together due to distance and extensive time commitment. A proposed solution to make this therapy method more accessible, is to create an at-home TMS device. With an at-home device, patients will no longer have to take time off from work for the treatment, receive treatment within an adequate time, and help clinicians tend to other patients hands on needs. Furthermore, an at-home device will make this procedure more accessible and available to patients who are not currently undergoing TMS as a possible therapy method for a neurological or mental disorder.

Global Impact:

Currently, there are about one in five people suffering from a neurological disease and unfortunately due to the limited clinics that offer TMS treatment, many patients do not have the option to undergo the procedure. By implementing an at-home use device, this treatment that shows promising results will be available to those too far from a clinic to even have this procedure as an option. In addition to helping patients that are currently not undergoing the procedure, the at-home device would also benefit those currently in treatment; patients would be able to receive treatment when needed without the hassle of going to the clinic and taking time off from work.

Overview of the Solution:

This project oversees the reconfiguration of current TMS circuitry to remodel and build a device fit for an at-home use. By redesigning the circuit configuration to output a fraction of the output current, compared to TMS machines in field specifications, will ensure that the device will be able to generate a magnetic field strong enough to penetrate the skull but within a safe range.

For the purpose of this project and for safety reasons, the circuit will be redesigned and simulated on the software, Multisim by National Instruments. The original schematic of the circuit was from Iowa State's High Current Pulse Generator with an output of 78 Amperes, while current TMS machines output around 5 kilo-Amperes of current. The goal of this project is to redesign the High Current Pulse Generator to output 10% of the current TMS output while ensuring the correct waveform and the safety features of the circuitry. More on the design solution can be found in the Design Solution/Results page.

Problem Statement:

Patients with neurological disorders and metal diseases are suffering from not having readily accessible TMS treatments in their homes due to the device not being energy-efficient.

Leader: Claudia Lum