Portable Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator Head Fixture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional transcranial magnetic stimulators are large and require extensive facilities, making it difficult to administer repetitive magnetic stimulation effectively and continuously for deafferentation pain relief, as they are challenging to position accurately and require professional assistance.
Innovation Solution
A minimized and simplified transcranial magnetic stimulator system that includes a fixture for the head and an optical navigation guide system, allowing patients to administer the stimulation at home or in a clinic with improved accuracy and consistency by using a magnetic field generating coil and a mesh-like shell for precise targeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional transcranial magnetic stimulator is used, then magnetic stimulation can be applied to the brain cortex, but the apparatus requires large facilities and extensive space making it difficult to administer treatment continuously
Solution Approach 1:
The conventional large-scale transcranial magnetic stimulator is segmented into portable components: a head fixture with coil mounting structure, a separate control device, and a power supply unit. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and enables continuous treatment administration in various settings including home environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a fixed, facility-based system to a portable, distributed system by changing the spatial dimension of the apparatus. The head fixture can be positioned anywhere on the patient's head, and the control device can be located remotely, enabling treatment continuity without requiring large dedicated facilities.
2Measurement precision
If the magnetic field generating means is positioned accurately to stimulate a spot-like target, then pain reduction effect is improved, but it requires professional assistance and is difficult to self-administer
Solution Approach 1:
The head fixture is pre-configured with the magnetic field generating coil at a predetermined position and orientation that corresponds to the optimal stimulation target. This preliminary positioning eliminates the need for complex real-time alignment procedures, allowing patients to accurately stimulate the spot-like target in the brain cortex without requiring professional assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable head fixture design with pre-positioned coil and simple attachment mechanism enables patients to self-administer the magnetic stimulation treatment. The fixture can be easily attached to the head and positioned accurately without requiring specialized training or professional operators, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining positioning precision.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is administered continuously, then sustained pain relief is achieved, but the conventional apparatus cannot be used at home or in outpatient settings
Solution Approach 1:
The essential magnetic field generating coil is extracted from the complex conventional stimulator system and integrated into a simplified portable head fixture. This extraction removes the dependency on large facilities and extensive equipment, enabling continuous repetitive stimulation to be administered at home or in outpatient settings while maintaining the therapeutic duration of pain relief.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameters of the system by using a portable design with reduced power requirements and simplified control mechanisms. This allows the magnetic stimulation to be administered continuously over several hours or days in outpatient settings without requiring the complex infrastructure of conventional hospital-based systems, thus achieving sustained pain relief with reduced facility requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous and repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation, providing sustained pain relief for several hours and potentially days, with the ability for patients to self-administer the treatment without the need for extensive facilities or professional operators.
Implementation Method 1
a pain reduction effect against deafferentation pain, which is identical with an electric stimulation, can be obtained by a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to stimulate a brain cortex neuron... by instantaneously passing a current through a coil
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(1)~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A transcranial magnetic stimulator according to the present invention includes fixing means for detachably fixing a magnetic field generating means and contains a fixture of a head which covers a head of an examinee to be fixed engaged with a shape of the head that is inherent to an examinee; and characterized in that: a relative position of the magnetic field generating means with respect to the head of the examinee is held constant so that the highest point of an intensity of an electric current to be induced by a magnetic field to be generated by the magnetic field generating means is constantly arranged on a target spot of a diameter not more than 10 mm, which depends on each of the examinees and is located within a cranium, by fixing the magnetic field generating means to the fixing means and a direction of a magnetic field to be generated by the magnetic field generating means and a direction of the target spot are made into a fixed relation.