Helmets that use artificial intelligenceto detect brain tumors, but now it appears a new helmet could treat them too. In the latest neurological breakthrough, researchers used a helmet that creates a magnetic field to shrink a deadly tumor by a third. The 53-year-old patient who underwent the treatment eventually died of an unrelated injury.
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However, an autopsy of his brain showed that the procedure had removed 31% of the tumor mass in a short period of time. The surgery marked the first non-invasive treatment for a deadly form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma.
The helmet features three rotating magnets connected to a microprocessor-based electronic controller, powered by a rechargeable battery. As part of the treatment, the patient wore the device for five weeks in a clinic and then at home with the help of his wife.
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The resulting magnetic field therapy generated by the helmet was initially administered for two hours and then increased to a maximum of six hours per day. During the period, the patient's tumor mass and volume shrank by almost a third, with the shrinkage appearing to correlate with the treatment dose.
The inventors of the device, which received FDA approval for the treatment, claim that the helmet could one day help treat brain cancer without radiation or chemotherapy.
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“Our results … open up a new world of noninvasive and nontoxic therapy … with many exciting possibilities for the future,” said David S. Baskin, author and director of the Kenneth R. Peak Center for Brain and Pituitary Tumor Therapy in the Department of Neurosurgery at Houston Methodist Neurological Institute. Details of the procedure have been published in the journal Frontiers in Oncology.
