A tDCS Headband for Mood and Pain Linked to Hormones
Samphire Neuroscience's tDCS headband pairs 20-minute sessions with a cycle-based protocol for mood and pain symptoms tied to hormonal change and named trials.
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Samphire Neuroscience
A tDCS Headband for Mood and Pain Linked to Hormones
Samphire
Neuroscience makes the Samphire Headband, a tDCS headband that the company
describes as managing "both mood and pain symptoms linked to hormonal
change via neuroplasticity." Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to
change its connections over time. The company's message rests on one idea:
"For decades we have treated hormones, when we should have been treating
the brain." Its site has pages for PMS, PMDD, endometriosis, menopause and
perimenopause, along with sleep, mood, and stress and anxiety.
How the tDCS Headband Works
The
headband uses transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, a brain
stimulation technique that uses direct electrical current. Samphire says it
targets the prefrontal cortex, linked to mood, focus and emotional control, and
the motor cortex by way of the posterior insula, linked to pain sensitivity and
physical tension. Each session lasts twenty minutes. A companion app handles
session scheduling, and the company says the protocol changes as life changes.
Personalized Protocols
Protocols
are built with CycleSync, which Samphire calls patented. The process starts
with a symptom analysis that asks whether symptoms are hormone-linked, how
severe they are and how they show up. A clinical research team then sets a
personalized schedule. According to the company, CycleSync maps cycle phases,
conditions and symptom history, and the protocol adapts to short- and long-term
cycle and hormonal changes.
The Research Behind It
Samphire
lists nine named trials. Completed ones include WIND in Brazil on PMS and
dysmenorrhea and ADAPT in the UK on PMDD with QMUL. ENHANCE with the NHS and
RELIEF with Stanford look at chronic pelvic pain linked to endometriosis. For
ADAPT, the company reports that 82.4% of women with PMDD using only the
headband had an over 30% drop in anxiety symptoms on the GAD-7, a
seven-question anxiety scale. The results are listed as in peer review.
Versions and Support
Samphire
describes Nettle as the regulated medical device version of the headband,
indicated for specific purposes and available in the UK and EU, and Lutea as a
general wellness product. The Headband and Guided Care offer includes a
dedicated care advisor, warranty and priority support, and free headband refills.
For health professionals, the site lists CPD courses for clinicians.
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