Use of TMS systems in research

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 4/10/2026 at 7:50 am EET.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) systems can be used for many purposes, the most typical of which are patient treatments, pre-operative cortical mapping (Nexstim's area of strength), and research use. In this article, we review the number of research publications found by searching for the names of TMS system manufacturers. Our review provides indications of the popularity of different systems in research use.

Method: Number of research publications in the PubMed database

We reviewed the number of scientific publications for the ten most significant TMS system manufacturers. In addition to Nexstim, these were: Neuronetics, Brainsway, Magventure, Magstim, Soterix Medical, Neurocare Group, Magnus Medical, YingChi, and eNeura. The last company on the list went bankrupt in 2020, but the technology has been sold and, to our understanding, is still in use. We searched for each manufacturer's name in the widely used medical and biotechnology database, PubMed. We collected both the total number of publications and the number of clinical trial publications (search criterion "clinical trial"). Our search may not find all studies conducted with a particular manufacturer's device, and conversely, irrelevant studies may be included for each manufacturer. However, we believe that the method provides a reasonably good picture of the current use of different devices in the research field (search conducted on April 9, 2026).

The number of TMS studies has grown rapidly

The first TMS studies found by our search were conducted by the industry pioneer Magstim in 1990. Magstim was the only TMS company linked to publications in our search until 2003, when a search for Nexstim yielded the first hit. In the 2000s, other companies began to appear in publications, but growth accelerated more significantly in the 2010s. By the end of the decade, there were already around 350 annual publications (2010: 14). Research activity has continued to grow this decade, albeit at a more moderate rate than before. We estimate that a small portion of TMS trials are company-sponsored, with the majority being academic investigator-initiated studies. We note that the search results include review articles and, for example, meta-analyses, so the number of studies does not directly reflect the use of TMS devices in research. However, the correlation is likely high.

Source: Pubmed, Inderes

Clinical trials

Clinical trials conducted on patients or healthy volunteers are considerably fewer in number relative to the total. In clinical trials, Magstim was also the only TMS company associated with publications from the first publication in 1995 until 2008. At that time, Neuronetics' pivotal study was published, leading to the first FDA approval of TMS for depression treatment in 2008. Nexstim's series of clinical publications began among the first in 2012. Overall, the number of clinical TMS publications grew strongly in the 2010s, and the pace has continued at around 70–80 publications per year this decade, based on our search method. The actual number is higher, however, as some studies are conducted with non-commercial equipment.

Source: Pubmed, Inderes

The Nexstim search is associated with some 50 studies annually in the database

The graph below shows the number of publications found with a "Nexstim" search on PubMed from 2012–2026. In previous years, from 2003–2012, there are 6 studies, which we have excluded from the chart for readability The use of Nexstim's systems also appears to have grown strongly in the 2010s and stabilized at around fifty annual studies this decade. The trend thus appears to correspond to the main line of development, where TMS as a research method has become significantly more common and has maintained its popularity in recent years. 

Source: Pubmed, Inderes