China's first medical instrument for treating depression recently passed tests by experts, according to the province's Committee of Industry and Information Technology.

The inventor, Sun Zuodong, head of the Heilongjiang Institute of Brain Science, said the headphones-like device acts on the auditory system and uses "transcranial magnetic stimulation" to lift depression.

He said China has more than 89 million people diagnosed with the affliction and noted the new instrument could lessen reliance on drugs used to treat depression. Sun and his research team spent five years developing the device.

(Source: China Daily)