Six Days to Liftoff: BrainsWay’s 6-Day Accelerated Deep TMS (SWIFT Protocol) - PsyQ Episode 23

In this episode, we break down BrainsWay’s 6-day accelerated Deep TMS for major depression—how its iTBS, 5-sessions-per-day schedule compresses a month of treatment into 6 days with non-inferior outcomes to standard daily TMS—then stack it up against conventional 4–6 week TMS and Stanford’s SAINT (the 5-day, 50-session, MRI-guided protocol boasting rapid, high remission rates). We’ll walk through patient flow (session length, spacing, acute + maintenance phases), efficacy (response/remission and time-to-relief), safety (mostly transient scalp discomfort/headache; no new safety signals), practicalities (staffing and workflow for multi-session days), and the real-world stuff clinicians care about—FDA status (BrainsWay’s accelerated clearance for MDD in 2025; SAINT cleared for TRD), coverage gaps (daily caps vs 5x/day), and how to counsel patients on choosing between speed, access, and cost. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit upathak.substack.com