The TMS stimulator in combination with the first fully validated active cooled coil (figure-of-eight) is the only system specially designed for rodent experiments. Based on years of experience and testing, the system is rated for unilateral single pulse and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation protocols. The solution incorporates dynamic liquid cooling to ensure that one can perform long sessions uninterrupted and generates sufficient magnetic field to reliably evoke response.
The cooled rat coil provides the first of many features:
The optimal diameter of one coil winding was first found to be ~25-50 mm based upon finite element models of a rodent brain. A rat coil was subsequently developed based on this specification and successfully validated.
Experimental validation confirmed that the cooled rat coil can reliably and robustly produce unilateral motor evoked potentials.
The small coil winding (34 mm diameter) naturally limits adequate heat dissipation. The addition of active cooling allows conducting long rTMS protocols even at high frequencies.