Day 18: Round Is Just Not My Type

This post will complete my 3-part discussion on the TMS. So, without further delay...

Part 3: TMS Coils
There are different types of TMS coils for different purposes. The properties of a coil depends on three things:

1. The geometric configuration of the coil
• Here are some examples of different coil shapes:
• round - the original coil shape
• figure-eight - what we use in the lab
• double-cone - used for deep stimulation (compared to superficial or surface)
• four-leaf - stimulation of peripheral nerves
2. The material that makes up the coil
3. The characteristics of the pulse the coil emits.

We use our coil for the stimulation of the surface of the brain because primary motor cortex is a superficial area of the brain.

Here are different coils Magstim sells (http://www.magstim.com/search?keywords=coil).

List compiled from the search results of "coil" from Magstim. 

Reference:

1. Magstim
2. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation (accessed Feb 19, 2013).