LIVE UPDATES
An NHS experiment concluded that an innovative electric headset for treating depression is an effective way of lowering symptoms, and it has been recommended for wider use in the health sector.
As a non-invasive strategy to address depression, patients' GPs gave them a Flow Neuroscience headset to wear for 30 minutes every day for six weeks.
The study discovered that it was an "effective depression treatment" by employing a brain stimulation technique known as transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS.
The device sends a weak direct electrical current to the front of the brain, stimulating the areas involved for emotional expression.
According to the study, more than 58% of participants improved within six weeks, and one-third went into remission with no depression symptoms.
According to Flow Neuroscience, it is the "first and only medically approved at-home treatment for depression". It can be used with other therapies such as talking therapies or medications.
James Maynard, a patient who had struggled with depression before using the headgear, told Sky News: "I was just so low, I didn't really have any goals and would just go through the emotions of day-to-day life."
"Going to work, coming home from the children, going to sleep. If I could sleep."
After just a few weeks of wearing the device every day for 30 minutes, he says his symptoms noticeably improved.
