From groundbreaking brain research to developing life-saving devices, Dr. Santosh Helekar’s innovative work is shaping the future of non-invasive treatments for mental health, stroke, cancer, and consciousness.
Dr Santosh Helekar is the Scientific Director of the Translational Biomagnetics
and Neurometry Programme at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in Houston, Texas, USA, and a Professor of Neuroscience Research in Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, USA.
Born in Chimbel, a quiet village near Panaji, Dr Helekar completed his primary schooling at Ajuda English School in Ribandar and his secondary schooling at People’s High School in Panaji. He then attended Dhempe College
of Arts and Sciences before pursuing his higher secondary and medical education at Goa Medical College (GMC), where he graduated in 1982. Following his mandatory internship year, Dr Helekar briefly worked as
a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore. He later returned to GMC for a short academic
tenure before embarking on a career path in the United States. There, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Dr Helekar earned a Ph.D. in
Neuroscience and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Neurobiology.
Reflecting on his decision to pursue medicine, Dr Helekar shares that his goal was to become a medical scientist. “I was driven to find answers to two fundamental questions through creative scientific research: 1) Why are we conscious? 2) How does the complex human body develop from a single cell? During my internship, I found myself more drawn to the first question, which became an ongoing focus and silent obsession throughout my career.”
Dr Helekar’s research has centred on the potential of magnetic stimulation as a non-invasive treatment for conditions such as strokes, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. He elaborates, “After 25 years of conducting traditional brain research, I realised that magnetic stimulation was the most effective non-invasive tool to investigate the causal mechanisms governing brain function. However, to make it more practical, I aimed to miniaturise it, making it portable, wearable, batteryoperated, and smartphonecontrolled. This led to the creation of the Transcranial Rotating Permanent Magnet Stimulator (TRPMS) in 2013. Initially, the device was intended solely for neuroscientific research, particularly to explore the causal mechanisms of consciousness. But as the research progressed, it became clear to me and my colleagues that the technology could be adapted to treat a variety of neurological and psychiatric conditions. We quickly recognised it as a platform technology with a range of potential applications in the medical field.”
Years later, in collaboration with brain cancer researchers, Dr Helekar’s magnetic stimulation technology was modified into a non-surgical device that could shrink, and potentially eliminate, two of the deadliest types of brain cancer: glioblastoma and diffuse midline glioma, which affect both adults and
children. This modification, known as the Oncomagnetic Device (OMD), is a wearable, non-invasive tool designed to target cancerous brain tumours. “The Oncomagnetic device is currently being manufactured by a startup for use in clinical trials in Germany and the US, with the ultimate goal of gaining FDA approval and making it available to patients,” Dr Helekar adds.
Speaking about the challenges faced during the early stages of developing these wearable magnetic devices, Dr Helekar explains, “In scientific research and technology development, the greatest challenge is securing the significant funding required, especially in an academic setting. Additionally, for entirely
new innovations, rather than incremental advancements, one must contend with the inevitable scepticism and resistance from experts and peers. Since my research was interdisciplinary, I had to assemble and collaborate with a team of skilled researchers, physicians, and engineers from diverse fields, including
physics, molecular biology, biomedical engineering, and neurosurgery. I managed to navigate these hurdles primarily through patience, persistence, and an unwavering optimism in the face of setbacks. I was also fortunate, particularly with the invention and development of my latest non-invasive device, the Sentiometer, which, although unrelated to biomagnetics, offers promising results. This device measures the level of consciousness in humans and other animals and could be used to monitor recovery, or lack thereof, for patients in comas in intensive care units, as well as the depth of anaesthesia in operating theatres, among other applications.”
Dr Helekar’s Transcranial Rotating Permanent Magnet Stimulator (TRPMS) has shown promise in treating conditions such as stroke and dementia. He explains the device’s mechanism: “TRPMS uses spinning magnetic fields to perturb the movement of electrons in certain molecules within brain cells, leading to changes in their electrical activity. These alterations, in turn, trigger a molecular cascade inside the cells, resulting in therapeutically beneficial modifications to the strength of connections between them.”
Regarding the Oncomagnetic Device (OMD), Dr Helekar describes how it targets and eliminates cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue. “We discovered that specific patterns of spinning magnetic fields produced by the
OMD can increase the levels of highly toxic chemicals known as reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside cancer cells to a level high enough to selectively kill these cells. Importantly, the ROS levels do not rise sufficiently to harm normal, healthy cells. The underlying mechanism behind this ROS increase is the perturbation of electron movement in the cells.”
Dr Helekar also highlights how these devices could transform the treatment of mental health conditions like depression, due to their ability to stimulate brain function: “All mental health conditions are now thought to result from disturbances in the electrical activity of brain cells and/or changes in the strength of their interconnections. Magnetic stimulation using TRPMS can be precisely tuned to reverse these disturbances. TRPMS and, by extension, OMD for brain cancer, would represent a new paradigm in medical treatment that avoids the need for externally administered toxic drugs, invasive surgery, or tissue-damaging radiation therapy. These treatments would have minimal or no side effects, offering patients a better quality of life, while also being less costly.”
Looking ahead, Dr Helekar envisions further advancements for these devices in the next decade and the breakthroughs he hopes to achieve in the field of biomagnetics: “Various forms of the technology underlying my biomagnetic devices have already been licensed to startups, which will raise the funds required for clinical trials following investigational device exemptions from the FDA. Pivotal clinical trials will lead to final FDA approval for therapeutic use. As mentioned, this platform technology has the potential for numerous therapeutic applications in the future. Additionally, I hold great hope for the Sentiometer, as it could provide the scientific explanation for consciousness. This will be my primary focus in the years to come. I have already secured substantial funding for this work from an anonymous angel donor, and I am in discussions about establishing a startup to bring the Sentiometer and related devices to both clinical and consumer markets.”
Dr Helekar shares advice for young scientists and researchers aspiring to develop medical technologies and innovations: “The advice is simple and wellworn: Be passionate, persistent, and persevere. However, I would add one more thing: Make your work a creative pursuit driven by deep insight, rather than an imitative or incremental approach for the sake of convenience.
