Acceptance Growing for BrainsWay’s Depression Therapy

BrainsWay has just received FDA clearance for a new stimulator to be integrated into its Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) System. The Jerusalem, Israel-based company’s device treats major depressive disorder (MDD).

BrainsWay is showcasing the technology at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Clinical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Society Meeting taking place in NY.

BrainsWay’s next-generation stimulator enhances the complete Deep TMS system and streamlines treatment for physicians and their patients. The stimulator is designed with the H-Coil helmet for the treatment of MDD. BrainsWay’s Deep TMS H-Coil technology reaches deeper and larger surface areas of the brain than standard TMS treatments.

The new stimulator provides enhanced features focused on increasing the ease of use for the physician, integrating enhanced energy utilization, a patient management system with the built-in depression treatment protocol and a user-friendly tool for accurate, rapid motor threshold detection. These features will decrease set up time and increase office efficiencies.

TMS is used to deliver magnetic pulses to specific neurons in the brain and peripheral nervous system. The therapy has been gaining traction over medications in recent years among clinicians, patients, and even insurance companies as a method of treating depression.

“I think people understand the medication has limitations,”Yaacov Michlin, BrainsWay’s CEO told MD+DI. “Patients taking the medication have a lot of side effects. The Deep TMS is for those patients who are suffering from major depression and who are not responding to drugs.”

“Out of the gate the awareness has gotten exceptionally better and the adoption has gotten better,” Joe Perekupka, VP of Sales and Marketing for BrainsWay USA, told MD+DI. “We’re at this meeting with the APA and three years ago 50% of the people were asking what TMS is, now the majority know what it is. It’s really making great strides here.”

BrainsWay is the second company to receive a nod for a TMS technology in the U.S. Malvern, PA-based Neuronetics was the first when FDA cleared its NeuroStar device.