Risks
Our Approach to SAINT
Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) is a noninvasive outpatient procedure that helps people with treatment-resistant depression. SAINT delivers safe magnetic pulses directly to targeted areas of the brain associated with depression. These pulses reset abnormal brain signals to help relieve symptoms and quickly restore mood regulation.
Because Stanford Medicine physician-糖心传媒ers developed SAINT, we are among the most skilled and experienced at delivering this innovative treatment.
What We Offer You for SAINT
- Safe, noninvasive outpatient treatment that can improve depression symptoms significantly faster than other types of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy.
- Unmatched expertise from the team that developed this treatment and advanced it through clinical trials and the FDA approval process.
- Leading team of psychiatrists who specialize in interventional psychiatry and have advanced training in delivering effective treatments for depression.
- Excellent outcomes, with almost 80% of SAINT clinical trial participants going into remission following treatment.
- Experience you can trust from experts at one of the only medical centers in the world offering this procedure.
- Guidance and support from our compassionate team members who help you determine insurance eligibility, answer your financial questions, and assist you throughout the process.
INTERESTED IN AN ONLINE SECOND OPINION?
If you are a patient who is actively in treatment with a community psychiatrist and are requesting a second opinion, please fax a referral with a summary of treatment to our referral fax center at听650-320-9443. Our new patient coordinators will reach out to you once your referral has been processed.
What Is Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT)?
What to Expect
Before
During
After
To determine if SAINT is right for you, our team meets with you to review your health history. You will need a referral and a treatment summary from your psychiatrist. Most likely, you won鈥檛 need to stop taking antidepressants or psychiatric medications before treatment, but there are exceptions. Talk to your care team about any medications you鈥檙e taking.
The week before treatment, your care team takes detailed images of your brain using fMRI . These images allow the team to identify the optimal area of your brain to target treatment. Your doctor refers to the images during treatment to deliver magnetic pulses directly to the areas associated with your symptoms.
SAINT takes place over five consecutive days (Monday through Friday), so you鈥檒l need to arrange to be in the clinic for 10 hours each day for five straight days. SAINT doesn鈥檛 require anesthesia or sedation. You can drive yourself to and from the appointments.
When you arrive at the clinic, your care team will place a small plastic 鈥渢racer鈥 on your forehead using special tape. The tracer adheres to your head and enables the machine to precisely target the part of your brain that needs treatment. The tracer is painless and will stay in place for the entire day.
While you sit in a chair, your doctor places a coil on the top of your head. The coil is inside a flat piece of metal about the size of a small dinner plate. It is attached to a large wand that connects to a machine. Guided by your fMRI images, your doctor sends a series of magnetic pulses through your scalp into your brain.
The pulsing isn鈥檛 painful, but you will feel a tapping sensation on the top of your head. You鈥檒l be fully awake and able to communicate with your care team the whole time.听
You鈥檒l receive one treatment per hour. Each treatment takes 10 minutes. You can rest between treatments, and you may choose to read, relax, work, or get a bite to eat. You do not need to stay in the clinic room between treatments. At the end of the day, you go home or to wherever you鈥檙e staying during the week of treatment. You return to the clinic the next morning.
Many people begin to notice their depression symptoms improve sometime during the week of treatment. Some notice an improvement after just a few sessions. Other people feel better about a week after completing treatment.
Your care team will check in with you after treatment to see how you鈥檙e doing and discuss next steps. They may recommend coming to the clinic for a follow-up appointment or maintenance treatments. You should continue seeing your psychiatrist, and be sure to talk to your psychiatrist before stopping any medications.听
To determine if SAINT is right for you, our team meets with you to review your health history. You will need a referral and a treatment summary from your psychiatrist. Most likely, you won鈥檛 need to stop taking antidepressants or psychiatric medications before treatment, but there are exceptions. Talk to your care team about any medications you鈥檙e taking.
The week before treatment, your care team takes detailed images of your brain using fMRI . These images allow the team to identify the optimal area of your brain to target treatment. Your doctor refers to the images during treatment to deliver magnetic pulses directly to the areas associated with your symptoms.
SAINT takes place over five consecutive days (Monday through Friday), so you鈥檒l need to arrange to be in the clinic for 10 hours each day for five straight days. SAINT doesn鈥檛 require anesthesia or sedation. You can drive yourself to and from the appointments.
close Before
When you arrive at the clinic, your care team will place a small plastic 鈥渢racer鈥 on your forehead using special tape. The tracer adheres to your head and enables the machine to precisely target the part of your brain that needs treatment. The tracer is painless and will stay in place for the entire day.
While you sit in a chair, your doctor places a coil on the top of your head. The coil is inside a flat piece of metal about the size of a small dinner plate. It is attached to a large wand that connects to a machine. Guided by your fMRI images, your doctor sends a series of magnetic pulses through your scalp into your brain.
The pulsing isn鈥檛 painful, but you will feel a tapping sensation on the top of your head. You鈥檒l be fully awake and able to communicate with your care team the whole time.听
You鈥檒l receive one treatment per hour. Each treatment takes 10 minutes. You can rest between treatments, and you may choose to read, relax, work, or get a bite to eat. You do not need to stay in the clinic room between treatments. At the end of the day, you go home or to wherever you鈥檙e staying during the week of treatment. You return to the clinic the next morning.
close During
Many people begin to notice their depression symptoms improve sometime during the week of treatment. Some notice an improvement after just a few sessions. Other people feel better about a week after completing treatment.
Your care team will check in with you after treatment to see how you鈥檙e doing and discuss next steps. They may recommend coming to the clinic for a follow-up appointment or maintenance treatments. You should continue seeing your psychiatrist, and be sure to talk to your psychiatrist before stopping any medications.听
close After
Our Clinic
Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) is a noninvasive outpatient procedure that helps people with treatment-resistant depression. Because Stanford Medicine physician-糖心传媒ers developed SAINT, we are among the most skilled and experienced at delivering this innovative treatment.
211 Quarry Road, 2nd Floor
211 Quarry Road, 2nd FloorPalo Alto, CA 94304
Getting Here
To make an appointment with a SAINT specialist, please call 650-498-9111.