Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS)
Magnetic wave therapy as a new treatment option for patients with depression and other affective and neurogenic disorders
Deep TMS — short and effective treatment
Deep TMS via Brainsway is a non-invasive treatment that brings about significant improvement in patients by stimulating the region of the brain responsible for depression. It is an outpatient procedure, meaning no hospitalization or anesthesia is required, and there is no memory loss or systemic side effects.
The Brainsway TMS sessions are easy to integrate into the patient’s daily routine. In each session, the patient sits comfortably in a chair and has a padded helmet placed on their head. The helmet generates short magnetic fields with an amplitude similar to that used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These magnetic fields briefly stimulate the target area in the brain and reduce the symptoms of depression.
The procedure requires daily sessions of 20 minutes over a period of 4–6 weeks. After each session, patients can go home and resume their normal daily routine.
What is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, also known as rTMS or dTMS) is an effective and very well-tolerated, innovative treatment method that uses alternating magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. Transcranial magnetic stimulation can be used to improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, compulsions, pain, fatigue, etc.
During the treatment, an electromagnetic field is generated in pulses by a magnetic coil, which acts through the skull (transcranial) and the meninges to the nerve cells. This magnetic field stimulates and activates the nerve cells to become electrically active.
Are the costs covered by statutory health insurance? How high are the costs?
This is an individual health service (so-called IGeL) or “self-payer service”, which is not covered by statutory health insurance companies. With private health insurance companies, a cost application can be submitted, which is decided on individually by the insurer.
Costs for deep-rTMS 85 euros per session. For effective therapy, 20 sessions are required in the first month, followed by 10 maintenance sessions with weekly application.