The 39th Annual Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society Tamil Nādu Chapter was conducted in the city of Coimbatore during 27-28 July, 2024. On the second day of the conference, two parallel workshops, one on Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) and another one on Borderline Personality Disorder: Enhancing Understanding and Practical Strategies – were organized.
NIBS workshop: Dr. M. S. Reddy, the Director of Asha Neuromodulation Clinics, India has started the workshop with his quite interactive and informative session. Contrasting between the traditional Figure of 8, Circular, and double cone coils on one side and the recent Hesed or H coils was elucidated by him. The way he described the human brain as an “electrochemical organ” gained attention of all the doctors. The zist of it is like this (see the attached video):
“The neurons in the brain communicate through chemicals called neurotransmitter molecules. The release of these molecules in the synapses is regulated by electric currents passing down the neuronal fibers called axons. Once the electric currents are modulated using any of the NIBS techniques, we could achieve a modulation on the chemical concentrations and hence achieve the behavioural change”
The hands-on workshop was later conducted by Dr. M. S. Reddy and myself, Dr. M. Aswin Kumar. We enjoyed the active participation of all the doctors present that day in the workshop. As rarely happens in a psychiatry workshop, ours was a “true” workshop in its literal sense. I covered on the topics like parts and functioning of an RTMS system, finding Resting Motor Threshold, determining Treatment Intensity, designing a Treatment Protocol, administering an RTMS treatment, screening for electromagnetic field compatibility, looking for side effects, etc. Throughout the demonstration, we explained the participants contrasting between traditional forms of RTMS and the advanced deep RTMS with H coils. I also demonstrated the working of a HD-TDCS device.
The session concluded with pre and post test questionnaires and feedback.
