Jerusalem medtech company BrainsWay wins FDA approval to treat smoking
Using a patented coil placed inside a personalized helmet, a patient’s brain is stimulated by inductive electromagnetic fields to encourage it to change how it responds.
By HAGAY HACOHENThree BrainWay helmets used to treat smoking, depression and OCD(photo credit: HAGAY HACOHEN)
Jerusalem-based medical-technology firm BrainsWay has received FDA approval for a new treatment to help compulsive smokers crush their last cigarette butt. It is gearing up to roll out its product in the US next year.Using a patented coil placed inside a personalized helmet, a patient’s brain is stimulated by inductive electromagnetic fields to encourage it to change how it responds.“We trigger the craving before we strap on the helmet by giving patients a cigarette to hold but not allowing them to light it,” company executive and brain scientist Avraham Zangen said.Once a patient begins treatment, the brain is gently stimulated by 1,800 pulses running through the coil, which is hidden inside the helmet for 20 minutes. Unlike other forms of therapy, the patient does not experience any shock, as there is never any direct touch between the body and currents.A recent study found that after five treatments per week for a three-week period and additional one weekly treatment for three additional weeks, 28.4% of patients reported an improvement, compared with 11.7% among the control group.Those who kept smoking said they had smoked less after the treatment. Patients had, on average, 26 years of heavy smoking and a series of failed attempts to kick the habit, a press release on behalf of the company reported.“Everything is in the brain,” BrainsWay chairman David Zacut said. “Once we overcome the resistance of the psychiatric profession, we can tap this entire market.”BrainsWay already offers antidepression therapy and a method to deal with obsessive compulsive disorder for US and EU patients, where most of its business is located. It also helps patients in Israel.Each solution is different because the coils are shaped differently to stimulate different regions of the brain. The Jerusalem-made helmets also have a different color code. Green is for smoking, light blue for depression and yellow for OCD.“The brain speaks two languages: chemistry, meaning dopamine and serotonin, or electricity, which are the signals your brain fires when you want to walk or grab a cup of coffee,” Zangen said.
“When the right section of the brain is gently stimulated, it is possible to cause a person to move his finger, for example,” he said.“However, this does not mean we can create a coil to teach people how to play the piano. We don’t have the technology to change the nerve system on that deep and complex level yet.”
