Cited by 626Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation StudiesEEG and Brain-Computer InterfacesNeurological disorders and treatments

An efficient and accurate new method for locating the F3 position for prefrontal TMS applications

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Beam, William, Borckardt, Jeffrey J., Reeves, Scott T., George, Mark S.·2009·Brain Stimulation

Abstract

The International 10-20 system is a method for standardized placement of electroencephalogram (EEG) electrodes. The 10-20 system correlates external skull locations with the underlying cortical areas. This system accounts for variability in patient skull size by using certain percentages of the circumference and distances between four basic anatomical landmarks. This 10-20 system has recently been used in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) research for locating specific cortical areas. In the treatment of depression (and some types of pain), the desired placement of the TMS coil is often above the left dorsalateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) which corresponds to the F3 location given by the 10-20 system. However, for an administrator with little experience with the 10-20 system, the numerous measurements and calculations can be excessively time-consuming. Additionally, with more measurements comes more opportunity for human error. For this reason we have developed a new, simpler and faster way to find the F3 position using only three skull measurements. In this paper, we describe and illustrate the application of the new F3 location system, provide the formulas used in the calculation of the F3 position, and summarize data from 10 healthy adults. After using both the International 10-20 system and this new method, it appears that the new method is sufficiently accurate; however, future investigations may be warranted to conduct more in dept analyses of the method's utility and potential limitations. This system requires less time and training to find the optimal position for prefrontal coil placement and it saves considerable time compared to the 10-20 EEG system.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.brs.2008.09.006

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  • The Beam F3 method is a well-validated approach for localizing prefrontal cortex stimulation in non-invasive brain stimulation studies.

    “For the scalp-based targeting aiTBS arm, we use the Beam F3 method (45), a well-validated approach for localizing prefrontal cortex stimulation in non-invasive brain stimulation studies.”

    From Adaptive trial for the treatment of depressive symptoms associated with concussion using accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (ADEPT): rationale, design and methods (2025) · cites this paper as [45]

    The Evaluation of the Beam F3 System reports close agreement with standard 10–20 F3 measurements in a preliminary study of ten healthy adults. But it calls the results preliminary and recommends further investigation, so “well-validated” overstates the evidence presented for this prefrontal TMS targeting method. Page numbers were not provided. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Beam, W., Borckardt, J. J., Reeves, S. T., & George, M. S.
Affiliations
Medical University of South Carolina (US)
Venue
Brain Stimulation
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-01
Volume
2
Issue
1
Pages
50-54
ISSN
  • 1876-4754 (ISSN-L)
  • 1935-861X
OpenAlex
W2092028571
Cited by
626
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 85 · 2025: 87 · 2024: 72 · 2023: 72 · 2022: 62 · 2021: 61 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 3
FWCI
1.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain stimulation (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (K23NS050485)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Neurological disorders and treatments
Keywords
transcranial magnetic stimulation, prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, craniometry, depression treatment, pain management
MeSH terms
Brain Mapping, Electroencephalography, Head, Humans, Models, Anatomic, Prefrontal Cortex, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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