APPARATUS FOR COIL POSITIONING FOR TMS STUDIES

摘要

A method and device provide simple positioning of a TMS coil relative to a coordinate system of the patient's head while allowing flexible positioning of the patient's head. The system includes a mobile console on a wheeled base that integrates various subsystems and supports a mast that, in turn, supports a coil gantry that supports a TMS coil assembly. The coil gantry includes a balance arm with a counterbalance and a halo assembly that connects to the coil. The coil gantry supports the weight of the coil and allows free movement of the coil in all dimensions for easy placement on the patient's head. A head support and coil alignment unit includes several parts that are designed to provide maximum patient comfort and reliable coil position measurement of the patient's motor threshold (MT) location and TMS treatment location. The head support and coil alignment unit aligns the patient's head and holds the head in place relative to the coil during TMS treatment. The head support and coil alignment unit may include a side pad mounted on a bracket assembly that allows the side pad to be moved for set up on either the left or right side of the patient's head for bracing the patient's head against the coil. The head support and coil alignment unit may also include numerous guides for positioning the patient's head in a repeatable manner, including a superior oblique angle (SOA) guide including an angle indicator, an anterior/posterior (AP) guide that may be rotated through a range of superior oblique angles +/-45° from the mid-sagittal position, and a coil angle indicator. An associated touch screen allows the user to record position measurements of the respective guides.