Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Jaffna
A special academic session on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was delivered by Dr Tarique Perera, President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association of North America and a leading TMS practitioner. The session was held on 10 March 2026 at the Clinical Teaching and Research Block (CTRB) with the participation of approximately 50 attendees, including psychiatrists, physicians, and members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team.
This academic session served as an introduction to TMS and a preparatory event prior to the establishment of TMS services in Jaffna as a collaborative initiative between the Teaching Hospital Jaffna and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna.
TMS is a relatively recent, evidence-based treatment modality in the field of psychiatry. It is a non-invasive outpatient procedure that has shown significant effectiveness in the management of depression and expanding indications, including post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, smoking cessation, and neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
For the first time in Sri Lanka, TMS service is introduced in Jaffna, alongside the National Hospital, Colombo. The Sri Lanka Medical Association of North America raised funds, procured two TMS machines, and donated one of them to Colombo and the other to Jaffna. Many medical professionals and well-wishers, both in Sri Lanka and in North America, played their role in this process.
The introduction of TMS services represents an important step in advancing psychiatric care in this region, improving clinical outcomes, and enhancing academic activities like teaching and research
