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Study Proves Navigated TMS Fundamentally Improves Treatment and Outcomes for Brain Tumor Patients
[June 17, 2014]

Study Proves Navigated TMS Fundamentally Improves Treatment and Outcomes for Brain Tumor Patients


HELSINKI --(Business Wire)--

A study published Thursday in the Oxford Journal Neuro-Oncology, 'Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation improves the treatment outcome in patients with brain tumors in motor eloquent areas', looked at the outcomes of 365 motor eloquent brain-tumor patients. The study proved that integrating navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) into the surgical workflow to pre-operatively localize motor function has a significant impact on treatment and outcome.

The authors from Charité University in Berlin, looked at using Nexstim's Navigated Brain Stimulation (NBS (News - Alert)) System for pre-operative motor mapping. The study enrolled 250 consecutive patients and compared their outcomes to a matched pre-nTMS control group on 115 patients. The results ofthe NBS mapping impacted the surgical plan in 68% of the cases:



  • Disproving suspected involvement of the primary motor cortex in 25.1% of the cases
  • Expanded surgical indication by 14.8%
  • Achieved 18% more total resections
  • Progression free survival increased by 45% in patients with low grade gliomas

"This is why we work to get this amazing technology to the clinics. Helping patients to get better care and provide neurosurgeons more tools for their important pre-operative planning is driving us further." - Janne Huhtala, CEO, Nexstim

In their conclusions, the authors stated "the impact of this study should go far beyond the neurosurgical community because it could fundamentally improve treatment and outcome, and its results will likely change clinical practice." The use of NBS for pre-surgical mapping provided crucial data that improved surgical planning and patient communication. nTMS has now been proven to enable more patients to undergo surgery, which in turn may lead to better neurological outcomes and higher survival rates in brain tumor patients.


About Nexstim

Founded in Finland in 2000, Nexstim is the world leader in image-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The company is committed to improving the quality of life of patients. Nexstim has pioneered the technology for brain diagnostics with the Navigated Brain Stimulation (NBS) System as the first and only FDA-cleared and CE-marked navigated TMS (nTMS) device for pre-surgical mapping of the motor and speech cortices. The advanced technology providing navigation to TMS has led NBS to be recognized as the emerging standard for pre-operative direct functional mapping.


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