Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Device With Reduced Acoustic Noise

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is widely used for noninvasive activation of neurons in the brain for research and clinical applications. The strong, brief magnetic pulse generated in TMS is associated with a loud (>100 dB) clicking sound that can impair hearing and that activates auditory circuits in the brain. We introduce a two-pronged solution to reduce TMS noise by redesigning both the pulse waveform and the coil structure. First, the coil current pulse duration is reduced which shifts a substantial portion of the pulse acoustic spectrum above audible frequencies. Second, the mechanical structure of the stimulation coil is designed to suppress the emergence of the sound at the source, diminish down-mixing of high-frequency sound into the audible range, and impede the transmission of residual sound to the coil surface but dissipate it away from the casing. A prototype coil driven with ultrabrief current pulses (down to 45-μs biphasic duration) is demonstrated to reduce the peak sound pressure level by more than 25 dB compared to a conventional TMS configuration, resulting in loudness reduction by more than 14-fold. These results motivate improved mechanical design of TMS coils as well as design of TMS pulse generators with shorter pulse durations and increased voltage limits with the objective of reducing TMS acoustic noise while retaining the neurostimulation strength.