rTMS Therapy
rTMS stands for repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
rTMS therapy is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the cortex, or surface, of the brain.
The magnetic field that is generated in rTMS can penetrate the scalp and skull safely and painlessly to induce a current in specific regions of the brain. It is termed repetitive TMS, or rTMS, because the magnetic stimulation is delivered at regular intervals.
rTMS may be used to elicit certain desired effects in the brain (i.e. excitatory or inhibitory effects) that have shown promise for treating various conditions or illnesses such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
rTMS is an outpatient procedure and does not require any anaesthetic or hospitalization.
There have been extensive medical research studies on rTMS therapy and it was approved by Health Canada for clinical use in 2002.