Magnetic Stimulation System with Reduced Power Consumption

Non-invasive magnetic stimulation is an emerging technology to stimulate nerve fibres and muscles, mainly used in rehabilitation to treat people with disabilities or paralysis due to e.g. strokes. The advantage of magnetic stimulation compared to electric stimulation is the fact that the stimulation is being done without direct contact to the skin and completely painlessly.

To cause a stimulus, however, the magnetic stimulation needs a very strong time varying magnetic field. Providing such a field requires very high currents and leads to a large power dissipation, i.e. heating up of the equipment. As the maximum temperature for medical equipment is legally limited to 40°C, very elaborate cooling mechanism are employed that nevertheless only lead to a usage time of a few minutes. This technological limitation is the main reason why magnetic stimulation did not yet replace electrical stimulation in neurological rehabilitation. The invention provides a setup to create a magnetic stimulation system that can reduce the power consumption and the current heat loss to about one fourth.

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