Patent 7601115 was granted and assigned to Neuronetics, Inc. on October, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The invention provides a method for treating a patient for mental illnesses, such as depression, by applying a magnetic field to the patient, producing a seizure in the patient as a function of a strength of the magnetic field, and preventing further stimulation from the magnetic field when the seizure is in progress. Such Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST) does not include many of the known side effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).