Texas A&M's Institute of Biosciences and Technology and Wave Neuroscience announced July 1 that the FDA had cleared Wave's MeRT System for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The university said clearance followed a 2024 Breakthrough Device designation, a separate earlier step.
MeRT stands for Magnetic EEG-guided Resonance Therapy. Texas A&M says it uses a patient's brain data to inform treatment. An Oct. 23 account published by ScienceDaily, credited to Texas A&M University, explains that an electroencephalogram, or EEG, records electrical signals from the brain to help guide a personalized magnetic stimulation plan. A coil against the scalp delivers the magnetic pulses.
That October account attributes the outcome figures to Wave: the company reported a 52% reduction in PTSD symptoms among patients and said 68% achieved remission. The full findings were still being prepared for public release.
Texas A&M's July announcement describes the evidence submitted for clearance as including a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial. It says a pilot phase randomized 74 active-duty and retired military participants, while a test phase randomized 158 general-public participants, including military subjects recruited at one or more sites. Kenneth S. Ramos of Texas A&M was the trial's principal investigator. The published accounts do not assign Wave's reported percentages to either phase.
