Company:Brainsway
![]() | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| TASE: BRIN NASDAQ: BWAY | |
| Industry | Medical technology |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | Burlington, Massachusetts , United States |
Key people |
|
| Products | Deep TMS System |
| Services | Brain Disorder treatment |
| Subsidiaries | Brainsway Inc. |
| Website | brainsway |
BrainsWay Ltd. (Hebrew: בריינסוויי) is an international company that is engaged in the development of a medical device that uses H-coil for deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (Deep TMS) as a non-invasive treatment for depression, OCD, and smoking addiction. The company was founded in 2003 and has offices in the US and Jerusalem.[1]
History
The magnetic coil technology used by BrainsWay's devices, called the "H coil", emerged from research done in the late 1990s and early 2000s at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) by Abraham Zangen, Roy A. Wise, Mark Hallett, Pedro C. Miranda and Yiftach Roth.[2][3][4] Most coils used in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) provide a shallow magnetic field that affects neurons mostly on the surface of the brain, delivered with coil shaped like the number eight. The H coil provided magnetic fields deeper in the brain, and devices using them provide what is called "deep TMS".[5]
The H-coil was patented by the NIH in 2002, and the procedure whereby the H-coil was applied to TMS became known as Deep TMS.[4][6][7]
BrainsWay was founded in 2003 in Delaware by Uzi Sofer and Avner Hagai, together with David Zacut, and they set up a subsidiary in Jerusalem,[4] and obtained an exclusive license from the NIH for the patent it filed on the H coil.[8] By 2006 the company had conducted animal studies at Weizmann Institute of Science and had run its first clinical trial assessing safety, at Tel Aviv University.[4]
In early 2007 BrainsWay executed an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, raising ₪33 million for a market cap of ₪110 million.[9] In 2010 BrainsWay announced plans to list shares of the company's stock on the Nasdaq exchange but withdrew them in June.[10][11]
In January 2013, BrainsWay received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and from Health Canada to market its deep TMS device in the United States and in Canada as a treatment for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.[12][13] Evidence to support this use is tentative; as of 2013 no high quality evidence is available.[5]
In August 2020, BrainsWay received FDA clearance for its deep TMS device for use in smoking addiction. The device has also previously been cleared by the FDA using an H1-coil for major depressive disorder and H7-coil for OCD.[14]
In September 2025, BrainsWay received FDA clearance for an Accelerated MDD Protocol that shortens the initial treatment phase from 4 weeks down to just 6 days. This protocol has been trademarked the SWIFTTM protocol. [15]
See also
- List of companies of Israel
- List of Israeli inventions and discoveries
- Neuroscience
- Science and technology in Israel
References
- ↑ "REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934". December 2023. https://mayafiles.tase.co.il/rpdf/1564001-1565000/P1564325-00.pdf.
- ↑ George, Mark S. (September 2003). "Stimulating the Brain". Scientific American 289 (3): 66–73. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0903-66. PMID 12951829. Bibcode: 2003SciAm.289c..66G.
- ↑ Rapp, David (17 February 2005). "Field of Dreams" (in en). Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/field-of-dreams-1.150597.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Blackburn, Nicky (19 February 2006). "Israel's BrainsWay stimulates a magnetic remedy for depression". Israel21c. http://israel21c.org/health/israels-brainsway-stimulates-a-magnetic-remedy-for-depression/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bersani, FS; Minichino, A; Enticott, PG; Mazzarini, L; Khan, N; Antonacci, G; Raccah, RN; Salviati, M et al. (January 2013). "Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for psychiatric disorders: a comprehensive review.". European Psychiatry 28 (1): 30–9. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2012.02.006. PMID 22559998.
- ↑ Spronk, Desirée; Arns, Martijn; Fitzgerald, Paul B. (2011). "Chapter 10: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Depression: Protocols, Mechanisms, and New Developments". Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation Techniques and Applications. London: Academic Press. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-0-12-382235-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=s3p_T2vnro0C&pg=PA278. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ↑ Heller, Corinne (7 December 2006). "Scientists in Israel are reaching deeper into the minds of the clinically depressed to try to lift their spirits". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-depression-idUSL0557346920061207.
- ↑ "Magnetic Stimulation Shows Promise as the New Wave for Treating Depression". NIH Office of Technology Transfer. 24 July 2007. http://www.ott.nih.gov/current_issues/archive_Magnetic_Stimulation.aspx.
- ↑ Weinreb, Gali (2 January 2007). "Brainsway IPO four times oversubscribed". Globes. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000168625.
- ↑ Habib-Valdhorn, Shiri (8 August 2010). "Brainsway looks to Nasdaq offering". Globes. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000580299&fid=1725.
- ↑ "Brainsway withdraws IPO". Renaissance Capital. 14 June 2011. https://www.renaissancecapital.com/ipohome/news/Brainsway-withdraws-IPO-9788.html.
- ↑ Wainer, Davic (9 January 2013). "Brainsway Rises as U.S. Allows Depression Device: Tel Aviv Mover". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-09/brainsway-rises-as-u-s-allows-depression-device-tel-aviv-mover.html.
- ↑ "Health Canada approves Brainsway depression therapy". Globes. 15 January 2013. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000814731&fid=1725.
- ↑ "FDA clears first brain stimulation device for smoking cessation" (in en). https://www.bioworld.com/articles/497063-fda-clears-first-brain-stimulation-device-for-smoking-cessation?v=preview.
- ↑ "Landmark Data Validate BrainsWay’s SWIFT™ Deep TMS, Beginning a New Era in Depression Treatment" (in en-US). https://www.brainsway.com/news_events/landmark-data-validate-brainsways-swift-deep-tms-beginning-a-new-era-in-depression-treatment/.
Further reading
- Hallett, Mark (19 July 2007). "Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Primer". Neuron 55 (2): 187–199. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2007.06.026. PMID 17640522.
- Roth, Yiftach; Zangen, Abraham (2012). "Basic Principles and Methodological Aspects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation". in Miniussi, Carlo. Transcranial Brain Stimulation. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-43-987570-4.

