Silicon Valley TMS

For more information please visit our TMS website: http://www.siliconvalleytms.com/

Silicon Valley TMS is proud to be on the forefront of a new paradigm in brain disorder treatment. Saad A. Shakir and Associates and Silicon Valley TMS offers two breakthrough, FDA-approved, non-invasive treatments for depression:

~ NeuroStar TMS Therapy®

~ Brainsway Deep TMS

What to expect with NeuroStar Treatment

Silicon Valley TMS NeuroStar TMS Therapy® is available to patients by prescription only and is delivered under the supervision of a board certified Neuro-Psychiatrist. For information on the efficacy of our TMS program, please see our clinical success page.

Procedure
A Silicon Valley TMS NeuroStar TMS Therapy® treatment session is a short outpatient procedure that lasts about 37 minutes. During treatment, you can relax in the treatment chair (watch TV or listen to music). You can also speak with the system operator whenever necessary. After the procedure, you can immediately return to your normal routine, including driving.

Your first treatment session
Because the supervising psychiatric physician needs to determine how to most effectively administer TMS treatment, your first session could last up to an hour and a half. You will be provided and asked to wear protective earplugs, as the system emits a tapping sound during operation. Please dress comfortably and casually.

Your psychiatric physician will first perform a test to identify your motor threshold. The motor threshold is the amount of magnetic field strength that results in a movement of your right thumb. This test is important because it identifies the magnetic field strength that will be used in your treatment. This field strength is customized for each patient to deliver the correct treatment dose.

After this initial procedure, Dr. Shakir will determine the place on the head where the TMS treatment will be applied and the treatment coil will be moved to that location. This will allow you to receive optimal treatment.

The supervising clinician will then oversee the administration of TMS Therapy® over a 37-minute period. In 30-second intervals, the device will deliver rapid “pulses” of the magnetic field. This will feel like tapping on your scalp. Some patients may find this tapping slightly uncomfortable. Your physician may be able to make adjustments to reduce this discomfort (at times the use of over the counter pain medication is available if necessary, please ask the operator).

After the procedure
Immediately following each treatment session, you may return to your normal daily routine, including driving. During or after treatment you may experience headache or discomfort at the site of stimulation. These are common and often very mild side effects which often lessen as further treatment sessions are administered. If necessary, you can treat this discomfort with an over-the-counter analgesic. If these side effects persist, ask Dr. Shakir to temporarily reduce the strength of the magnetic field being administered in order to make treatment more comfortable.

In clinical trials, most patients who benefited from NeuroStar TMS Therapy experienced results by the fourth week of treatment (at Silicon Valley TMS we have observed often indications of improvement very early in the treatment). Some patients may experience results in less time, while others may take longer. You should discuss your depression symptoms with your physician throughout the treatment course. If symptoms persist or worsen, you should discuss this with Dr. Shakir and to consider other antidepressant treatment options.

What to expect with Brainsway Treatment

The Brainsway Deep TMS System produces a time varying magnetic field and based on Faraday’s Law, which asserts that a time-varying magnetic field produces an electrical current in an adjacent conductive substance, achieves its effect. During DTMS, the conductive substance is the brain, in particular the region of the cortex that lies beneath the DTMS System coil. The electric current induced in this region of the cortex travels in a path orthogonal to the direction of the alternating magnetic field with the point of maximum field strength and greatest current located beneath the coil located in the helmet which is placed on the patient’s head and transmits magnetic pulses to the patient’s brain. The induced current is tangential to the scalp at the cortical surface, and diminishes in magnitude with increasing depth. In the targeted area of the cortex, where field strength achieves the stimulation threshold, it is postulated that neuronal depolarization occurs. This type of magnetic field is not intended to induce a seizure during therapeutic use. The peak magnetic field strength achieved with each pulse in the cortex is maximum 0.4 Tesla, with alternating magnetic fields of between 1 and 10 KHz. Although the mechanism of action is unknown, it is hypothesized that the Brainsway DTMS System causes neuronal depolarization and changes in brain functional activity that may be associated with various physiological changes in the brain associated with symptomatic relief of depression in subjects with Major Depressive Disorder.

Insurance Coverage

Insurance coverage for TMS procedures vary depending on individual carriers and plans and are determined on a case by case basis. Our TMS administrative staff is highly knowledgable and experienced in the limitations and rules of medical insurance pertaining to TMS, and will work with each patient to determine eligibility. 

For more information click here or call (408)358-8090. Messages left on this line would be answered in less than 24 hours. You could also visit us for a free tour of the office.