Daily Archives: June 23, 2021

It has been almost a year since I decided to write up my story on how I came to be injured by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). In all honesty, at that time I was convinced that my injury was some sort of mystery that I would never solve. I could have never known how much I would be able to learn on my own, just having the willingness to search for answers.

In the past year I have spoken to approximately a hundred people injured by TMS, countless doctors, and quite a few medical researchers and scientists. What I was able to learn and put together about the nature of TMS injury and the culture surrounding it yields an incredible insight into the treatment itself and into the nature of the medical model in its current form.

This article is devoted to the analysis of the harm currently being caused by TMS. It is not intended to provide a balanced view of the therapy or its practice.

First, I consider it important to identify the very clear set of symptoms that are emerging in the group of people harmed by TMS. After speaking with and reading the testimony of hundreds of people, the most common symptoms are:

Almost every person Ive spoken with experienced at least one of these, if not all of them.

Additional symptoms that are somewhat less common include:

Psychosis has also been observed in a few rare cases, but at least half of those specifically involve overuse of TMS (as described in this article).

It also became obvious to me that these symptoms manifest themselves in a very specific way. For instance, the worsening anxiety and/or depression is unrelenting and does not respond to treatment. As an example, before my TMS injury, when I was extremely anxious or depressed I would run longer and start eating really well, and this would always improve my symptoms to some degree. Typically, the harder I worked out, the better I felt, and the better I ate, the better I felt.

But after TMS, when I became depressed and anxious, exercise and eating did not help. I immediately began working out harder and harder and put myself on a stricter diet, which became stricter because I never got any relief from my symptoms. Every day I woke up feeling the same intense depths of despair, and I would become very anxious during the day. If I tried to meditate or run or use the CBT methods I had developed in the past, none of them made ANY difference at all. I found this to be remarkable and deeply disconcerting, which only compounded my situation.

Another characteristic of my TMS injury was that instead of improving in the months following TMS, I actually got worse. Immediately after TMS, I did not feel nearly as bad as I began to feel as time went on. Immediately after TMS, I still had my depression and anxiety, and I may have even felt slightly better due to the placebo effect and the hope that it was helping me.

However, about a month after TMS, I felt my symptoms were slowly intensifying until, about three months after TMS, they had become far more severe. The level of depression I felt was at least ten times what it was before. Also, instead of having anxiety occasionally bother me, I now had it all day, and panic attacks that I had only experienced once or twice in my whole life became a daily occurrence.

I concluded that this is what led to the subsequent increased, intense suicidal ideation that I experienced, which is what most others have mentioned to me when discussing their TMS injury as well. When you are extremely depressed and frequently panicking, suicidal ideation naturally follows; you come to believe you will never get any relief from the suffering and you begin to doubt if you can live with it.

To me, this is a normal human response to the trauma that TMS causes in the brain and on the nervous system. If we take a step back here and look at how these symptoms are manifesting, we can see this is delayed onset. New symptoms are continually manifesting after the initial injury has occurred.

This happens with most of the other symptoms as well. I developed constant muscle fasciculationsin my legs about three to six months after TMS. These were part of a larger muscularissue that began developing a few months after treatment: cramps, burning, numbness, and tingling in my legs, as well as sciatica. The symptoms slowly evolved over that period into what I am experiencing at present.

TMS appears to create a dysregulation of electrolytes in the body. I believe it to be sodium ion channelopathy acquired from the electrical injury. While this may be controversial, it is my suspicion that it is what is causing the muscle spasms along with the pain, numbness, weakness and tingling. While those symptoms are very common, we are seeing also some less common symptoms that appear to be a more severe form of this condition.

For instance, I am aware of people who have had episodes of syncope from hyponatremia after drinking too much water due to excess thirst or at the direction of their physicians because of muscle cramping. They have also experienced trouble breathing.

Before TMS, I would occasionally become dehydrated after paying too little attention to my water intake for a week or two. Now, if I drink less than 80 oz of water in a day, I will experience serious dehydration, intense muscle cramping, and increased cognitive impairment the following day.

Additionally, it appears that people are experiencing more instances of tinnitus when they had hearing protection properly in place for the duration of the TMS treatments than those that did not have hearing protection at the time of injury. This seems to suggest that the tinnitus is being caused by damage to the auditory cortex and not from external sounds. In fact, TMS treatment did not seem excessively loud to me or to others, although I do know that loud, repetitive noises can cause hearing loss. The auditory cortex of the brain is located close to the typical treatment site in TMS.

As I began to experience these symptoms and struggle to understand the reason, I began to think about similarities with each person I was speaking to. They all told me the details of their experience with TMS and, typically, any theories they had about medical injuryspecifically (and most often) psychiatric injury.

This led me to an interesting discovery. I began reading about the injuries that occurred with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). My mind was almost instantly blown. I had been searching for a very long time to find some sort of cohesive explanation, a similarity to another type of injury or pattern that would give me some insight into what had happened to me. What I saw with ECT was that the types of injuries, the symptomology and the general fallout was very similaralmost exact.

Both injuries showed signs of traumatic/chronic brain injury, cognitive impairment, and neuromuscular and central nervous system (CNS) problems/agitation. I began searching the literature and found a community that was well-read in the evidence of the damage caused by ECT and the nature of diffuse electrical injury.

I realized it is important to understand not just the physiology of the damage caused by the injury, but also the kind of recovery people injured by TMS might expect.

The first important piece I read was an article by Jennifer Berg and Michael Morse. It is incredibly important because it describes both the diffuse electrical injury symptomatology and the difficultysome doctors have in addressing it because of the subjectivity of the symptoms. It describes thereasons for delayed onset of symptoms and damage, the psychological and physiological symptoms, and why the injury so rarely shows up on imaging and other diagnostics.

In summation, this article validates the theory of electrical injury and the difficulty doctors have verifying it. It is extremely important to point out that the problems with diagnosing and treating this injury are not the lack of evidence of injury but that doctors simply are not diligent enough in seeking the right conclusions to diagnose the injury.

The next important step is tying this electrical shock injury to TMS injury. You may think that since TMS does not use direct electrical current it is not shocking the brain or inducing electrical current into the brain, but that is not correct.

In fact, according to the manufacturers websites, you will typically find a statement that TMS is not the same as ECT. While this is true, it does not mean that TMS does not shock the brain and cause the same type of electrical trauma that ECT does. I think the fact that manufacturers overtly deny being an ECT treatment is very telling. TMS is obviously not ECT, just as it is obviously not an SSRI or talk therapy treatment. But unlike those, it does induce electricity into the brain.

I think the direct statement of difference is to try and diffuse an inherent connection people may make about having their brains shocked, the associated discomfort and obvious risks of such a treatment. TMS treatment is considered benign because it is less invasive (and less dramatic), but it is not.

Expert evidence presented in recent ECT litigation by Kenneth Castleman demonstrates that ECT causes damage by both heat and electroporation (that is, tearing holes in individual cell membranes so that they fail and cause cell death). Both heat and electroporation are generated by rapidly alternating electrical fields and are not exclusive to the physical manifestation of the electrical current itself. With TMS, electrical current is still being generated inside the skull by means of electromagnetic induction, as well.

Therefore, the same damage and impact on the brain is being exerted by the electromagnetic coil used in TMS. If you Google how TMS works, you will get the same answer: it works by generating rapidly alternating electrical fields, which we now know generate both heat and electroporation inside the human skull. In this way it is similar to ECT, simply without the direct electrical current applied to the temples. One could even say it is an evolution of ECT.

As if these similarities with ECT were not enough, we learn something else from the Castleman document: ECT practitioners go through a process of initially determining a patients seizure threshold. Clinicians have a testing session where they shock their patients with varying levels of electrical current to see what level of current is required to induce a seizure in the patient. After they have this data, they produce a seizure at a current somewhere between one and a half times to 12 times the seizure threshold.

In TMS, every patient is given an initial session where the clinician measures or maps the patients motor threshold. The patient is hooked up to the TMS machine and the clinician activates the machine and directs it at different parts of the brain to see if the patients hand twitches or not. To my knowledge, this is done so that the treatment will not induce a seizure.

However, the clinician has to specifically manipulate the machine to avoid inducing a seizure the way ECT does. This is further evidence that TMS is generating an electrical current inside the brain in a strikingly similar manner to ECT, and that it uses a similar methodology to measure its effects on a patient.

To understand the dangers of TMS, we need to understand the basics of the energy it uses. Electromagnetic waves such as the ones created by TMS are made up of two simultaneous types of energy: magnetic and electrichence the term electromagnetic wave or field.

TMS devices generate a minimum of a 1 to 1.5 tesla electromagnetic field. The electrical component of the field generated, based on this energy conversion table, is up to 797,700 to 1,196,550 milliamperes (mA) per square millimeter. In a study by Leo Alexander and Hans Lwenbach on specific damage done by ECT, they found that just 20 mA per square millimeter of brain tissue would causeirreversible damage to the tissue. TMS is far beyond the threshold established by the study.

The magnetic component of the field generates up to 10,000 to 15,000 gauss. The earth naturally generates a magnetic field of about .25 to .65 gauss, and the generally accepted safe occupational levels of gauss are generally set at 5 to 10 gauss. That means TMS could be generating anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 times the amount of magnetic energy that is generally considered safe.

While electromagnetic fields do dissipate the further you are away from them, in TMS the coil is often held just millimeters away from the patients skull. This is causing damage to patients brains, and while the brain is a resilient organ, we cannot expect it to mitigate damage from that amount of force. The question is not why people are harmed by TMS but, rather, how is it that some are not harmed by TMS.

I have spoken to quite a few people who were not harmed, but claim they were helped by TMS therapy. One such person told me they felt better after TMS treatment and were not harmed in any way.

When I asked further questions about how long they felt good and if they still felt better today, they replied that the positive effect had lasted for a few months after theirlast treatment, but they slowly reverted back to theirprevious state. They also told me they were currently battling some significant depression and a bit of anxiety. That was very interesting but, sadly, not a surprise.

The surprise came next, when I asked if they had any suspicion of being harmed by TMS. They said they did not feel they had been harmed in any way. I then asked if they were sure and I listed all of the aforementioned symptoms associated with TMS and electrical injury. This is where things became very interesting: a few months after TMS, this person had a severe and long-lasting bout of sciaticawith no apparentphysiological cause. That is, this person had never had sciatica before and they found no explanation for the occurrence.

I asked some probing questions about how the sciatica could have come on and they simply had no explanation. This opened up a discussion about the sensations experienced during TMS, particularly the dip in which the patient becomes more depressed during TMS and then has to stick with treatment in order to come out of the dip. This person had experienced such a dip and had concerns about their health during treatment. They expressed a tremendous amount of concern and emotional discomfort in association with their treatment when speaking about it with me as well.

Coming away from this interview, both of us felt that maybe TMS was not as beneficial as they had originally thought. In fact, the conversation raised a few new concerns. This depressive dip that occurs during TMS could be a neurological response to acute brain trauma. Furthermore, ignoring that dip causes so much trauma within the brain that the patient begins to experience anosognosiabecoming unaware of their condition because they are in a kind of shock and no longer possess the faculties to properly understand their condition.

I experienced this same thing. I was having so much cognitive dysfunction I could no longer recognize the disoriented state TMS had induced in me. Additionally, I think the delayed onset of symptoms is due to a similar phenomenon. The nervous system is in a dysfunctional state for several months after the injury caused by TMS.

When it starts to recover, it now has injuries and impairments to its ability to function, and we see the long-term symptoms begin to emergesuch as the sciatica in this case. In other cases, such as mine, we see a more severe set of symptoms, such as cognitive impairment and neuromuscular issues. It is also possible that cognitive impairment accounts for some of the indifference to and lack of reporting of serious side effects. Physicians are often well aware of this possibility and choose to ignore it in many cases.

For those who follow TMS testimony closely, a typical objection to the existence of injuries is What about all the people it has helped? The truth of the matter is that we see the same thing with ECT. People claim real relief from the treatment, and it does have some amount of temporary efficacy.

This may occur because electricity always follows the path of least resistance. Everyones brain physiology and the variables involved in the treatment are different. Also, the brain is made up of at least seventy percent water, so the electrical current and fields generated inside the brain will follow a different path every time. This means that while one treatment could prove harmless, the next one could have devastating effects.

We see the same variability with lightning strikes. While one person can walk away perfectly fine, the next will be killed instantly or have severe neurological problems like we see in TMS or ECT. There is actually a very interesting article on its effects on a group of children that also corresponds to what we see in ECT and TMS.

Another trend I am now seeing is that, as with ECT, people who were at first successful with TMS are going back for subsequent treatments when the benefits wear off. They will have a relapse of symptoms and then become injured in subsequent treatments. I fear patients undergoing TMS will be pulled into the same debilitating loop as those given ECT.

The initial treatment may prove beneficial, but its efficacy will fade, as the therapeutic effect seems to be simply some kind of endocrine response to the trauma itself. Traumatic injury causes the body to release hormones that promote healing and reduce pain. But subsequent TMS treatments will lead to additional sensitization of the CNS to electrical injury, inevitably causing serious, life-altering harm to the patient.

As if all the aforementioned problems with TMS were not enough, I have seen another pattern emerge from the people I have spoken with. Many of the clinics administering TMS know very little about the treatment, the science of its effects, and even less about the brain, CNS, and human body. The staff is made up of trained technicians, not educated scientists.

The person who administered my treatments was newly trained and had no other medical training or knowledge. Their only knowledge of TMS was given to them by the manufacturers training personnelshortly before myvisit. I did not learn of this until well after my treatments had started.

Furthermore, during my treatments, the intensity of the machine was increased, creating a more intense feeling of drunkenness, lightheadedness, and impairment. When I describedthis to my technician and her manager, they both told me that they had to increase the intensity to reach the therapeutic effect. At this point, I was so desperate to make it work, I agreed. They did not know why, but they had been taught to do this.

Day after day, I made the same complaint, and they said it was normal. When I pressed them about it, they specifically told me that the manufacturer instructed them in training to turn up the intensity of the treatment regardless of patient complaints. The manufacturer told them to ignore patient complaints and turn up the intensity because there was no chance of harm during the process.

At this point, given all I have learned, experienced, and witnessed about TMS, I would disagree with that. It is bad enough that this happened to me, but worse knowing that those who came after me into that TMS clinic have experienced the same thing. I heard the same story from people injured by TMS all over the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Singaporevirtually all over the world.

Another disturbing pattern I identified was the use of TMS for off-label use. One gentleman I spoke with described severe anxiety, insomnia, and several other life altering problems after just one treatment. He could no longer work. He told me he was administered TMS for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

I was in disbelief. I said,Do you have any history of mental health issues? He said, No, never. He had a very severe reaction to TMS; he could barely stand still and his voice was racing and disjointedobviously in rough condition. In his case the treatment was much worse that the disease.

This was not the only such story I heard. People have described TMS being used to treat their addiction problems, dementia, Alzheimers disease, pain, or to simply to improve brain function as well. The cases of Alzheimers and dementia are particularly troubling because these patients were already suffering from cognitive impairment. We risk making things much worse for patients who may not possess the awareness or ability to report further harms.

I have also heard from many people that they had relatively minor anxiety or depression and were asked by the office staff to exaggerate their responses to the PHQ-9 questionnaire so that TMS would be approved by insurance. People who go in for TMS are usually desperate for help and have been convinced that this is a no-risk miracle cure. This is a massive contributor to both these clinicsbank accounts and to inappropriate levels of risk and harm to their patients.

The Recovery

All of this has a huge impact on a persons physical and emotional health for many reasons. So, what happens when they go to a doctor for help with the harm done? Typically, and almost exclusively, the patient is invalidated, with doctors denying the possibility of any harm having been done to them from this treatment. This is simply because these experiences are not listed as a side effect in the common literature or on the manufacturerswebsite.

This is a fierce, fierce tragedy. Not only is someoneharmed seriously despite being told they wouldnt be, but now all the physicians they see deny theharm and sometimes even try to add an additional mental illness to theirdiagnosis simply because they were harmed by TMS.

It does not help that there is so little knowledge out there about electrical injuries. Once I learned that the injury is electrical in nature, I asked my doctors about it, but they had no insight nor any inclination to try to treat that type of injury, which is outside their specialty.

Interestingly enough, after I had queried all the usual medical resources, I called a largeand reputable electrical injury rehabilitation institute and described my injury to them without using the word TMS. Instead, I told them that I had my head next to a 1 to 1.5 tesla electromagnetic coil for 20 minutes a day for two monthsafter which they replied that they do commonly treat those types of injuries and they gave me the rundown on what they did and how much it would cost, which would not be covered by my insurance.

I found this to be very interesting. Once the buzzword TMS was removed from the situation, physicians told me several times, and in subsequent follow up emails, that this is indeed an injury they could attempt to rehabilitate me from.

As for the injury itself, the next problematic point is that it is very difficult to show brain injuries diagnostically. TMS is no different. Electroporation affects each cell individually as it expands and contracts the cell walls; therefore, each cell has its tipping point where it cannot recover its form and fails altogether, causing cell death. That, combined with the fact that the current and electromagnetic fields being generated fluctuate based on the conductivity of the matter they are interacting with, means there is no way to predict which cells will be affectedand which will not.

So, what we have is microscopic damage taking place throughout different, very small, particular areas of the brain which will not show on any kind of imaging test like anMRI, CT, or PET scan. I had several myself and have talked to countless others that have had the same, and so far we cannot see, nor have our technicians reports shown, any damage.

This makes it that much harder for doctors to believe their patientsalthough they do not have any reason to disbelieve them, either. It is very important to be aware that these scans also do not show damage caused by other meanseven those which are now well-establishedsuch as the brain damaging effects of psychiatric medications or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (brain damage caused by repetitive head injuries, typically in professional sports players).

These diagnostic techniques simply do not work as well in this area, even though there is very clearly significant damage to the brains function. In order for patients harmed by TMS to even begin to hope to recover, generally speaking, physicians need to start by acknowledging the injury. This is unlikely, however, due to the professional and financial pressure they are under to defend its highly profitable industry.

I do believe recovery is possible. Because of the way TMS injures the CNS, I believe that CNS sensitization is the primary issue to recover from. When our systems are overwhelmed enough or we come into contact with stimuli to which we are particularly sensitive, we experience panic attacks or sometimes other catastrophicsymptoms like tachycardia, syncope, or seizures. On top of this our general sensitivity to anxiety and depression seems to be heightened.

So far, the best approach I have found is to provide as much of a neutral environment for the CNS to recover as possible. This means, psychologically, as little stress and negativity as possible. This will give the CNS a safe space to repair itself and use whatever bandwidth it has freed up for that. I have also found diet to be essential: I really only eat organic food with no preservatives. Essentially, I eat like our ancestors do: primarily organic and free-range vegetables, fruit, fish, and poultry.

Healthy activity is incredibly important to keep our bodies functioning optimally. I shoot for at least 45 minutes of cardio per day. For some people, that is not realistic and they have to start smallthere is nothing wrong with that and it is actually the right move. Just keep active and engaged in your physical environment in ways that are not overly strenuous.

If we keep ourselves in a stimuli-neutral environment we can then introducethings that will help the brain recover cognitively as well. Playing games, listening to positive music, doing puzzles of all different kinds (like Legos, crosswords, etc.), and engaging in artwork to stimulate brain activity and create new neural networks that can build around our injuries and compensate for our losses.

It is key to focus on experiences you see as positive. Positive experiences are the building blocks of healthy brain activity and healing. This approach is the long-haul approach and with time, I think real recovery is possible and there is very little risk involved.

Recovering from injury caused by TMS demands respect and a healthy attitude toward healing just like all mental health challenges do. We cannot expect to solve these problems with more medications and therapies that have significant risks just so we can live the unhealthy lives that may be expected of us. It is time to focus on being human again, accepting and embracing the reality that comes with that, with all of our hearts and minds.

Lastly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Sarah Price Hancock who has offered her indispensable brilliance in my endeavors to understand my injury and everything that comes with it.

***

Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussionbroadly speakingof psychiatry and its treatments. The opinions expressed are the writers own.

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Can Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Hurt You ...

Newly established tech company Thermal Management Solutions Group (TMS), which brings together different expertise to create one development powerhouse, says it is helping the industry to transition from the ICE to electrified powertrains with state-of-the-art fluid temperature control systems.TMS was officially formed in March 2021 from three automotive brands Dauphinoise Thomson, Magal and Wahler, and is said to be uniquely positioned with worldwide facilities and manufacturing capabilities. Paddy Lange, VP of global engineering and sales, discusses the demands and difficulties of engineering next-gen thermal management solutions.

What R&D projects is TMS currently working on?Many of theICEtemperature control systems applied in ICEs are also applicable in the hybrid market. What were working on here is increasing the value-added, so were working with customers to provide more of an integrated system to reduce the amount of vertical integration and provide something that we assemble and test to specification. This would mean that they dont need to buy different components, hoses and valves, etc or use as many suppliers. Some clients are also looking at adopting these subassemblies in their full EVs.

Were also working on electric valves for EV applications. These requirements are changing from what were used to with regard toICE. In full BEVs you have cooling requirements for several components such as the rotors, stators and power electronics. A lot of heat is generated, especially in the power electronics of higher-performance engines. Were working on being able to switch different circuits on and off, and the trend here is toward electric valves.

We are working on several electric vehicle projects, including, for example,an electric bus application.

For high-performance vehicles and trucks were still working onICEsolutions, and in the future theres a good chance these will go into battery applications for buses, too.

What are the thermal management considerations in an electrified engine?One of the biggest changes from an ICE to an electric powertrain is that many components have been eliminated. These engines do not have gearing. In BEVsyou dont have the high temperatures, but instead, you have low temperatures. In an electric powertrain, there are various different elements with different cooling requirements.

Cooling of the power electronics is a particular challenge as the method of cooling must be carefully chosen because having fluid and electronics close together is dangerous. This presents challenges with regard to leakage and sealing.

Although this all sounds quite straightforward, when it comes to reliability and ensuring that the vehicle can cope in different terrains, climates, and regions, the engineering detail thats required in this new phase is quite a lot, even with the most seemingly trivial challenges.

What has been the biggest challenge?Were using proven technology and innovating to alter it for battery-electric vehicle applications. A key element of this is getting up to speed with the different requirements and architectures. Companies are adopting different approaches, so establishing which customers we will be working with, and finding the right solutions for them, is a challenge.

One of the biggest difficulties has been acquiring knowledge, which relies on customers sharing their experiences. With the travel restrictions due to Covid, we havent been able to visit our customers.

As the industry is in this infancy stage, some players arent even sure what they need. Something that was touted a year ago, which we were certain would be the solution, is in some cases, a year later, perhaps not the latest thing that customers want or need. The advantage of being a medium-size company is that we have all development competencies in-house from conceptualization right through to production.

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TMS discusses thermal management in electric powertrains - Automotive Testing Technology International

By Omar Singh, president and founder, Surge Transportation

Do you remember studying something in school and asking yourself or your teacher, When am I ever going to use this? Well I asked that once of a professor when talking about a calculus class. He explained that we were not studying calculus because we were going to use it in whatever jobs we ended up having. We were studying it to learn how to solve complex, multistep problems: I know you are not going to use the quadratic equation in your job, but you are going to have to come up with solutions to complicated problems that involve many steps. I accepted that answer as it seemed to make sense, and honestly its been one of my favorite parts about building automation although only some of the problems are complicated and multistep; others are just routine, repetitive tasks.

Application programming interface vs. robotic process automation what is the difference? As I learn more about APIs and RPA, I think the main high-level difference is that one works inside your system as an integrated partner (API), while the other works outside your system as a guest user (RPA). They are both forms of automation that involve programming a logical series of decisions and then executing those decisions dozens or hundreds or thousands of times per day. I kind of work at the if/then level of decision making and then let the programmers write the code. If refrigerated, then bid; if hazmat, then apply accessorial; if past dates, then do not bid. If refrigerated hazmat with past dates, then which rule applies?

If you are using APIs, then you are integrated partners and working inside of a system in our supply chain world it is transportation management systems (TMSs) both shipper and service provider systems. Typically there is substantial financial investment developing the partnership and mapping the systems to communicate with one another. Rather than logging on each time, there is an authentication key that allows constant open access and exchange of information. Most of the information we exchange with shipper TMSs like BluJay, Blue Yonder, Mercury Gate and Oracle is load and rate information real-time rates. They provide the origin, destination, date and trailer type; we provide a rate. We repeat that exchange a lot. With our own brokerage TMS we have activated API capabilities and are automating go-live schedules for loads, target buy-rates and revenue codes. For example, if a quote ID is present, then, change the revenue code to real time; if no quote ID is present, then default the revenue code to primary award. The point here, though, is that we are integrated working inside of connected systems.

If you are using RPA, then you are not integrated and are working outside of the system as a guest logging on. The decisions can still be automated, tasks can still be automated, but the substantial financial investment is in programming the tasks from the outside rather than integrating a partnership from the inside. In the example of pricing, the bot is logging into a shipper TMS, either exporting or scraping load information, then leaving that system, likely logging on to a pricing engine to retrieve and apply logic to determine a rate, then perhaps logging into a broker TMS to record that rate, and going back to the shipper TMS to provide that rate. At the end of the day, its automation and applying a set of rules. The result is the same, its just from the outside.

Build vs. buy

In the past, I was a pure advocate of only buy. Let the tech companies do technology; let the supply chain companies build and move freight. I worked at large national supply chain firms with proprietary software that may have been cutting edge when they created it but could never really keep up year after year with periodic releases and updates the way technology companies can. Also, technology companies have the advantage of a large pool of different users who ask for modifications and enhancements that get pushed out to the community of other users. It is not just the ideas of a small team of developers that enhance the product, but the ideas of all of the users better results in the end.

However, in 2019 we started building as well and it has changed our whole business model it turned out to be good for us. We even bought an API module for our bought TMS, which allows us to build custom capabilities inside of the system and integrate automation with tools outside of the system. So for us its definitely both build and buy. We are a better company that can handle higher volumes with more accuracy while simultaneously reaching out to our carrier partners more quickly as a result of designing these multistep automatic or repetitive solutions. Im a big fan of doing whatever works for you yourself, your company, your family and recognize there is no one size fits all, but in the case of automation I think just find your way to get started and you should achieve some positive results. I havent met anybody who has said otherwise.

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API vs. RPA whats the difference? - FreightWaves

The benefits of traffic management systems in cities

A smart TMS is an artificial intelligence solution that is designed to analyse traffic and driver behaviours, which can then be used to detect unlawful actions on roads, such as running red lights, making illegal left turns, driving in the bus lane, speeding and so on. Its a little device with a camera that we attach to a traffic light or any pole on the street. Then, the infringements are noted and sent to the authorities, who can then choose to process them further as they see fit.

The benefits of using TMS are many. For one, it provides city planners with data on inhabitant behaviour. It can help them identify problem areas, which, as they have been identified, can then be solved. We installed a TMS system at an intersection that was notorious for the frequency of accidents that happened there, and we found that there was a high rate of red-light running. Now, the city can think about how to address this issue with its inhabitants.

From another angle, collected data on infringements can ease the process of issuing fines which in many cities is a manual process, and often undertaken with limited resources. As a result, this automated system can save municipalities resources and increase their income at the same time.

Sounds good, right? The problem is, until now, its been incredibly difficult, and the cost has been prohibitive for municipalities to implement such smart systems. Fortunately, with the development of 4G (and upcoming 5G) technologies, the costs are falling and installing smart traffic infrastructure is more than possible. The reason being that by connecting to the mobile network, you no longer have to obtain building permits to set up internet cables or wired sensor connections, which is time-consuming and expensive. All thats necessary is an electric connection and some kind of pole that it can be mounted to which is much easier to arrange.

Technology making smart TMS-es a reality

Implementing a TMS has never been more possible. The latest technologies make for the fastest and most economically efficient setup and maintenance, with the most diverse applications in terms of location and features. In fact, some are already up and running.

The mobile connection is the linchpin of the success of these systems. While current 4G networks have the capacity to handle a few prototypes, if you wanted to install these systems throughout the entire city at every intersection, youd need the heavy lifting that 5G offers. As mobile operators continue to roll out 5G throughout their cities, this is becoming more of a possibility.

Another piece of technology that makes these systems possible is edge computing. We use the 4G mobile network for connectivity, which gives us a lot of freedom and saves time to set up the solution. Edge computing solves the limited transmission volume challenge, making it possible to be free of cable connections. We can do all the AI video analysis right there in the device, and only use 4G to send analysed data. We save on building costs, server costs, network bandwidth and setup time.

A common concern we hear is that of privacy if there are cameras set up, then how is individual privacy upheld? These days, data privacy is an important issue and isnt to be taken lightly. The solution only identifies and saves traffic law offenders vehicle data when the specified driving behaviour has been identified such as running a red light. It will then save several photos and a short video in which both the car and traffic light are visible. This can then be used as proof by the police. The rest of the video stream is not saved, and even the police cant access it. Also, the saved events are stored only for the minimum period that is required by law. Were only interested in improving road safety, and we take privacy very seriously.

The time for smart cities is now

Were living at a time when what used to be considered the technologies of the future are now here and making them a reality is not only possible, but also cost-effective and convenient. At LMT, weve developed a ready-made system for municipalities, neighbourhoods or regions.

Find out more at https://trafficmonitoringtech.com/.

By Ingmrs Pis, VP and board member, LMT

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AI and edge computing: the future of traffic management - Business Reporter

Over the past few weeks, Universal Orlando Resort has undergone many changes, which have all been pushing towards having the theme parks return to normal.

We saw mask mandates disappear for vaccinated Guests, and temperature checks are gone, social distancing went from six feet to three feet. Then, Universal removed social distancing in the parks altogether. One of the biggest changes has been capacity increases.

Related:Universal Orlando Says Were Getting Closer to Normal

Universal has been able to operate at full capacity for quite some time now, as Governor Ron DeSantis lifted capacity limits a while ago. That being said, since Universal Orlando Resort is on private property, Universal was able to decide how much they wanted to raise capacity on their own timeline.

Recently, Universal has admitted that their capacity is back in full operation, and it shows! Reporter Alicia Stella (@AliciaStella) took to Twitter to show how crowded Universal Orlando Resort was this morning in the line to enter CityWalk and go through security. As you can see in the video below, the crowds are massive and at a standstill.

UnIvErSaL WiLl nEvEr ReCoVeR tHe CrOwdS will never ReTuRn.

Because of the pandemic, Universal did suffer financially; however, the company did not lose money but broke even. Most of this was due to the success of Universal Orlando Resort reopening in June 2020 to a high demand that has only increased since then.

Although the line looked to be quite daunting, it seemed that the line was cleared in 15 minutes thanks to the efficiency of Team Members!

Wow, @UniversalORL I am extremely impressed and pleased. Youd never guess looking at these photos just how incredibly smooth that was. Considering the constant flow of arriving guests I cant believe how fast you got everyone in. Huge #UOFistBump to all parking and security TMs!

Considering crowds only continue to grow, it seems that Universal will likely profit this year instead of just breaking even. But, especially with the hype that VelociCoaster has brought to Islands of Adventure and the return of Halloween Horror Nights this fall, Guests cannot wait to step foot into the adventure.

It should also be noted that Universal Hotels are now finally all in full operation! Now that Aventura is open, Universal can hold the number of Guests it typically would during a pre-pandemic time, which will surely only increase crowds on property.

There is still more than Universal must do to return fully to a pre-pandemic state, such as reopening theater shows, having Team Members remove masks both indoors and outdoors as a couple of examples, but considering where we started one year ago, Universal has reverted to a more normal state of operations quite quickly!

What do you think of the crowds at Universal Orlando Resort? Let us know in the comments below!

Continued here:

Massive Crowds Flock to Universal as Capacity Restrictions Disappear - Inside the Magic

A SWOT Analysis ofTreasury Management System (TMS), Professional Survey Report Including Top Most Global Players Analysis with CAGR and Stock Market Up and Down.

The global Treasury Management System (TMS) market research report portrays a deep analysis of the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market. The market value is calculated by analyzing the revenue (USD Million) and size (k.MT) of the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market. The report covers the recent technological trends and key industry improvements of the Treasury Management System (TMS) market. It also demonstrates the analysis of the restraints, new opportunities, and drivers of the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market. The research report profiles the key players in the Treasury Management System (TMS) market operating across the globe. The dominating players in the Treasury Management System (TMS) market are ACI Worldwide, Finastra, Oracle, SAP, Sopra Banking, Path Solutions, Cash Management Solutions, NTT DATA EMEA Ltd., Gresham Technologies, AURIONPRO, BankSene, ALVARA Cash Management Group AG, Intimus, Glory Global Solutions, Giesecke and Devrient GmbH, Nextage, Broadridge Financial Solutions, National Cash Management Systems (NCMS), Salmon Software Limited, IBSFINtech, PEC, GTreasury, Taulia, Investopedia.

The report covers a review of recent developments and volume of all market segments. It uses SWOT analysis to estimate the current Treasury Management System (TMS) market trends. The report includes Porters five forces model to review the competitive landscape of the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market.

The global Treasury Management System (TMS) market research report covers the main product types and segments along with the analysis of the future Treasury Management System (TMS) market trends. It also offers an important data on the existing and potential demands for the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market. The report presents a demand for individual segment in each region. It demonstrates various segments Local Systems, Cloud-Hosted Systems, Others and sub-segments Large Enterprises, SMEs, Government, Others of the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market.

Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at::https://www.marketresearchstore.com/market-insights/treasury-management-system-tms-market-819406

The additional geographical segments are also mentioned in the empirical report.

North America:U.S., Canada, Rest of North AmericaEurope:UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of EuropeAsia Pacific:China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, North Korea, South Korea, Rest of Asia PacificLatin America:Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin AmericaMiddle East and Africa:GCC Countries, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa

The Treasury Management System (TMS) market report is an output of the deep analysis of the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market. It also covers discussion with numerous key Treasury Management System (TMS) industry participants making the report rich source of information. The report emphasizes outstanding players in the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market along with their shares in the market. It also estimates the growth of the key market players during the projected time.

The global Treasury Management System (TMS) market is classified on the basis of regions such as North America, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Most of the data in the global Treasury Management System (TMS) market research report are represented in the form of pictures, tables, and graphs along with precisely proposed statistics.

Impact Of COVID-19

The most recent report includes extensive coverage of the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Heated Jacket division. The coronavirus epidemic is having an enormous impact on the global economic landscape and thus on this special line of business. Therefore, the report offers the reader a clear concept of the current scenario of this line of business and estimates the aftermath of COVID-19.

Chapter 1, Definition, Specifications and Classification of Treasury Management System (TMS) , Applications of Treasury Management System (TMS) , Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2,Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3,Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Treasury Management System (TMS) , Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4,Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, Regional Market Analysis that includes United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea & Taiwan, Treasury Management System (TMS) Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, The Treasury Management System (TMS) Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Treasury Management System (TMS) ;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type Local Systems, Cloud-Hosted Systems, Others, Market Trend by Application Large Enterprises, SMEs, Government, Others;Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, The Consumers Analysis of Global Treasury Management System (TMS) ;Chapter 12, Treasury Management System (TMS) Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, Treasury Management System (TMS) sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.

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Global Treasury Management System (TMS) Market Research Report Covers, Future Trends, Past, Present Data and Deep Analysis 2021-2026 The Manomet...