History
The NeuroStar TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) Therapy system, developed by Neuronetics, is the first and only non-systemic and non-invasive depression treatment cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients who have not benefited from prior antidepressant treatment. With over 75,000 active treatment procedures already performed, The NeuroStar TMS Therapy has been proven safe and effective. With continued development of even more effective sequences of repetitive TMS Therapy, the future looks even brighter.
Timeline
| Year | Discoveries/Developments |
|---|---|
| 1831 |
Michael Faraday discovered that a magnetic field could be converted to an electrical current |
| 1980s |
Transcranial magnetic stimulation has been used to study the nerve fibers that carry information about movements from the brain to the spinal cord and onto the muscles |
| Mid- 1990s |
TMS Therapy is used as a potential treatment of a variety of diseases, with depression being the most thoroughly studied to date |
| 2003 |
TMS Therapy is approved in Canada |
| Oct. 2008 |
NeuroStar TMS Therapy is approved by the FDA as a treatment of depression. Neuronetics had conducted the largest controlled, multi-center TMS study* ever conducted (n=301) in patients with major depression, demonstrating its safety and efficacy for this use |
| May 2010 |
An independent sham-controlled randomized trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the second large multi-center trial that replicates the benefits of TMS Therapy |
| Aug. 2010 |
NeuroStar TMS Therapy is used in 7 of the top Psychiatric Hospitals, (including Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins, Massachusetts General, and UCLA Neuropsychiatric hospital), in over 40 institutions and over 300 private practices around the USA |
| * More than 30 randomized, controlled trials of TMS Therapy as a treatment for depression have been published by investigators around the world | |
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Next: The Device and How it Works

