Mecta is an American corporation in Portland, Oregon, that makes and sells electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) machines.
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The Mecta ECT machine was developed at Oregon Health Sciences University in 1973 by Dr. Paul Blachley, for the treatment of major depression unresponsive to pharmaceuticals.[1]
Expert on ECT Dr. Harold A. Sackeim has been a consultant for Mecta since the mid-1980s.
After Dr. Blachley died in 1977, the Mecta corporation went bankrupt and was purchased by Gorham and Robin Nicol.
Akkerman v. Mecta was filed in Ventura County, in June 2007. Atze Akkerman alleged deceptive advertising on the part of Mecta, saying that he had not been informed that his memory loss from ECT would be permanent, and his doctor had assured him otherwise based on material that came from Mecta. The trial court refused to certify a class action suit since the class was overly broad.[2]
In 1989 Imogene Rohovit sued Mecta alleging that her ECT treatment had caused her brain damage. The judge found against Mecta, which then offered a settlement of $105,000.[3][4]