ICNAS and ULS Coimbra sign agreement to promote research on electromagnetic stimulation

The Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS) of the University of Coimbra (UC) and the Integrated Responsibility Centre (CRI) for Psychiatry - Neuromodulation Unit - of the Coimbra Local Health Unit (ULS Coimbra), signed a protocol this Thursday, 29th, at the ULS Coimbra Psychiatry Unit. This protocol will facilitate collaboration between the two institutions in research on functional and clinical neuroimaging, as well as the treatment of patients using transcranial electromagnetic stimulation.

Horácio Firmino, Director of the Psychiatry CRI at ULS Coimbra, explains that "transcranial magnetic stimulation is one of the primary non-invasive stimulation methods employed in recent decades. It is based on generating an electromagnetic field to modulate the neuronal response of a specific brain area." Firmino further adds, "It has been used in various conditions, including depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and tic disorders, among others".

"We believe that this partnership will bring significant benefits to the scientific and academic community, as well as to our patients, to whom we are first and foremost committed," he concludes.

The protocol outlines the collaboration between the two institutions in both treatment and research. Patients to be enrolled in the research and/or treatment programme will be selected by the Neuromodulation Unit from those currently being monitored and deemed eligible. This collaboration is expected to increase the number of patients receiving neurostimulation treatment to approximately 100 per year.

"This agreement reinforces the commitment of the CIBIT research unit (Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research) and ICNAS to translate research into clinical application in collaboration with ULS Coimbra," explains Miguel Castelo-Branco, Deputy Director of ICNAS.