History

  • The scTMS protocols are included at the request of many people.

  • These protocols have never been evaluated using ICES technology, but some users report that they find them useful.

  • More details and links to the science of TMS are available later in this document.

  • The “brainwave” protocols (alpha, beta, delta) have also never been evaluatedscientifically using ICES technology, but they are included at the request of a very large number of ICES users and self-hackers. More details are available later in this document.

  • Each of the four standard ICES protocols (B5-C5, P2, A9, Omni-8) also can be selected with an optional 5 minute rest period at the end of each cycle. These are at the bottom of the menu.


Usage

TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. TMS was approved by the FDA for the treatment of depression in 2008, but this was only for approved TMS devices using a specific high-intensity protocol: rTMS. No Micro-Pulse device is approved for this purpose.  If you have, or believe you have, depression, you must seek professional clinical advice. This is no substitute for professional clinical advice.

  • TMS is currently under investigation for a wide range of clinical applications other than depression.

  • Many people wish to self-experiment, and while the ICES model M1 cannot generate the extremely high levels of power of a clinical TMS device, the inherent efficiency and lower power of ICES technology *may* be useful for this application. You are now in the realm of total self-experimentation, so you must be very cautious.

  • The model M1 is pre-programmed to only deliver scTMS, which means “sub-threshold, continuous TMS”, whereas the FDA approvedprotocol is for very high intensity, short bursts called rTMS (repetitive TMS). High intensity rTMS is known to cause seizures in a small percentage of people subjected to rTMS, likely because the intensity used is sufficient to cause neural depolarization in the motor areas of the brain (see papers below).

  • The model M1 only delivers scTMS, which should be well below the threshold that could cause motor activation and lead to seizures. BUT THE SAFETY OF THIS APPROACH HAS NOT BEEN TESTED AND VERIFIED.

  • The model M1 delivers scTMS at the recommended 10 pps (Hz), with a timer that limits the stimulation to 30 minutes or 60 minutes.

  • This link will lead you to a recent Clinical Consensus Review Paper for the use of TMS for the treatment of depression or you can download a PDF of the same paper here.

  • This link takes you to a clinical paper on the use of TMS in depression.  This paper clearly shows how coils may be placed on the head (on page 3 of 9)

  • There are many more scientific papers available by searching Google Scholar using the search terms “TMS depression”