Title: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treatment of Neurological Disorders
Speaker: Ravi Hadimani, Postdoctoral Research Associate, ECpE
Abstract: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been used for the treatment of depression by stimulating the pre-frontal cortex of the brain non-invasively and safely. TMS technique has potential to treat other neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) without the involvement of surgery or ionizing radiation. The commercial TMS coils used for the treatment of depression cannot stimulate deeper regions of the brain without over stimulating the cortex. We have developed a coil configuration that can stimulate deeper regions of the brain with lower surface to deep-brain magnetic field ratio. We are developing multiple coil arrays that are needed to focus and improve the depth of penetration in order to stimulate a particular region of the brain to treat various neurological disorders.
Animal tests have been conducted on TBI induced mice to investigate the effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation using commercial animal coil. Our preliminary results on mice test suggest that there are no long term side effects of TMS. We have also developed an animal coil that can stimulate selected region of the brain of mice. This coil is also tested for thermal and mechanical stability. We are currently in the process of developing a helmet configuration for our “Halo coil” that will enable the clinicians to vary the site of stimulation depending on the type of neurological disorder. Our work on in-vitro studies of dopaminergic neurons suggest that there is a possibility to control the growth rate of neurons with the treatment of TMS pulses in a particular direction. We are currently investigating the effect of TMS on the morphology of the neuron and the frequency of their action potential. We are currently collaborating with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to conduct clinical trials on the treatment of PTSD, TBI and spinal cord injury. TMS technique might thus become an important medical treatment for other neurological disorders apart from depression.
Speaker Bio: Ravi Hadimani has a first class honors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kuvempu University, India (2001), an MS in Mechatronics from the University of Newcastle (2004) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cardiff University (2009). His PhD thesis was based on Advanced Magnetoelastic and Magnetocaloric Materials for Device Applications. He has served as the KCMC Project Scientist from 2010 to 2011 at the Institute of materials research and Innovation of the University of Bolton, UK. His work on hybrid piezoelectric and photovoltaic energy harvester which is capable of harvesting electrical energy from solar, wind and rain energy was awarded the UK Energy Innovation Award in 2011 which was published in various news articles by BBC, New Scientist and Scientific America. He has also developed and patented piezoelectric polymer fiber that can be woven or knitted into energy harvesting fabric. He is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at Department Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University where his work is focused on Biomagnetics. He is in charge of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Laboratory and he works for Dr. David Jiles, Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is actively involved with the IEEE Magnetic Society. He has founded the IEEE Magnetic Society, Central Iowa Chapter and he is the current chair of the chapter.