Wearable TMS Device Using Multistable Latching Magnets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for brain injury rehabilitation is limited by its invasive and costly nature, requiring hospital-based sessions that are not accessible to mobility-impaired patients, and lacks a portable, long-duration solution for at-home use.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device utilizing a combination of permanent magnets and electromagnets to create time-varying magnetic fields, allowing for lightweight, low-noise, and low-power consumption therapy that can be used daily, with a multistable latching mechanism and motorless design for mechanical movements, enabling prolonged therapeutic sessions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional TMS equipment is used for brain injury rehabilitation, then therapeutic effectiveness is improved, but device portability and accessibility deteriorate due to hospital-based requirements and high cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the magnetic field generation system into multiple independent permanent magnet assemblies arranged in an array, each capable of being individually actuated by electromagnets. This segmentation allows the system to be miniaturized and distributed across a wearable device, eliminating the need for large hospital-based equipment while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness through coordinated operation of multiple magnet units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical motors and actuators with an electromagnetic field-based actuation system. Electromagnets interact with permanent magnets to produce motion through magnetic forces, eliminating mechanical contact and reducing device complexity. This substitution enables a more compact, reliable, and wearable design while maintaining the ability to generate therapeutic magnetic fields.
2Adaptability or versatility
If permanent magnets are continuously actuated to change magnetic field patterns, then therapeutic versatility is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic actuation of electromagnets to change magnetic field patterns only when transitions between stable positions are needed. The system cycles through a sequence of stable configurations, maintaining each pattern long enough for therapeutic effect before transitioning to the next. This periodic operation dramatically reduces power consumption compared to continuous actuation, as electromagnets are energized only during brief transition periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for continuous energy input by designing a system that maintains stable magnetic field patterns without active power consumption. Once an electromagnet actuates a permanent magnet to a desired stable position, the magnetic field is maintained passively by the permanent magnets themselves, requiring no continued energy input. This extraction of continuous power requirements enables long-duration therapeutic sessions with minimal battery power.
3Measurement precision
If multiple electromagnets are used to control permanent magnet positions, then magnetic field control precision is improved, but device weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple electromagnets into shared structural components and control circuits. Multiple electromagnets are arranged to share common power supply connections and control logic, reducing redundant wiring and electronic components. The electromagnets are also integrated into the structural framework of the device, where possible, to minimize additional weight. This merging approach maintains precise control capability while reducing overall device weight and complexity.
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
The wearable device provides effective, prolonged transcranial magnetic therapy for brain injury rehabilitation, enhancing accessibility and reducing costs by allowing patients to use the treatment in an outpatient or at-home setting, with adjustable magnetic field patterns and frequencies for targeted brain stimulation.
Implementation Method 1
The mount for the permanent magnets is moved to specific stable positions by energizing electromagnets to interact with the permanent magnets momentarily
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of permanent magnets are embedded in a mount that can be mechanically shifted or rotated
Implementation Method 3
said controller being programed to operate said switch to flip polarity of said electromagnet in a pattern such that said electromagnet is able to actuate continued motion in said permanent magnets without using a motor
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides wearable devices for effecting transcranial magnetic stimulation to be used by patients who have suffered brain injuries. Permanent magnets are shifted or rotated to deliver a time-varying magnetic field, preferably about the locus of the injury. In an embodiment, the strong magnetic fields of the permanent magnets are directed to the injured area for therapeutic purposes. A novel mechanism is provided that uses a small battery-powered electromagnet to interact with the weak peripheral magnetic fields of the permanent magnets and to shift the permanent magnets between two or more stable positions. As a result, a lightweight, quiet, wearable device with low power consumption is provided.