Who's Working on Ultrasound Neuromodulation?

Research, Industry, and More

Who are the major players in the ultrasound neuromodulation field? Who, if anyone, has an interest in cognitive/affective enhancement?

Companies

Attune Neuro

Attune Neuro, per their website, is a clinical-stage medical device company funded by, among others, the US Special Operations Command and the US Air Force (!)

They have $3.75M in funding, were founded in 2019, and are based in Menlo Park, CA.

They got an SBIR grant to build wearable devices with steerable ultrasound arrays to target the thalamus and develop a (nonaddictive) sleep aid protocol to help with the insomnia that accompanies recovery from opiate addiction.

Brainbox Neuro

Brainbox makes a variety of noninvasive neurological devices, including transcranial ultrasound (TUS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial electrical stimulation (TES), electroencephalography devices (EEGs), functional near-infrared spectrography (NIRS), and others.

Their NeuroFUS PRO is a single-transducer ultrasound device connected to a waveform generator; their latest models can focus ultrasound to within a millimeter (in lateral diameter).

They were incorporated in 2010 in the UK, and founded by former employees of Magstim, a TMS company.

Brainsonix

BrainSonix produces a wearable, MRI-guided focused ultrasound device, based on what looks like a single large transducer, with a 1-cm focal area.

The company is based in California and was founded in 2003 by UCLA psychiatry professor Alexander Bystritsky.

Cerevast

Cerevast, founded in 2015 and based in Redmond, WA, is developing a transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation therapy for recovery from stroke. They’ve developed an ultrasound device designed for the emergency room.

They’ve received $24.4M in venture funding to date.

NaviFUS

NaviFUS is a Taiwanese company that makes a neuronavigation-guided, chair-mounted transcranial ultrasound system.

They were founded in 2015 and have raised a total of $18.3M in venture capital.

Neurosona

Neurosona is a Korean company founded in 2019, that produces a (cart-mounted) low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation device.

They’re in clinical trials for depression, Alzheimer’s, coma, neuropathic pain, sleep disorders, and stroke.

NovusTX

NovusTX Devices is a Canadian company founded in 2020, developing noninvasive transcranial ultrasound device for treating depression.

They’ve received $300K in seed funding.

OpenWater

OpenWater, founded in 2016, is developing a wearable ultrasound device for neuropsychiatric disease.

They’ve received $22M in funding so far.

Prophetic AI

Founded in 2023 with $1.1M in seed funding, Prophetic AI is developing a wearable ultrasound neurostimulation device to induce lucid dreaming.

Sputnik Brain

Founded in 2021 with a $1M Emergent Ventures grant, Sputnik Brain wants to “eliminate suffering” with a wearable neuromodulation device, and it sounds like they’re using ultrasound.

Spire Therapeutic

Founded in 2023 by University of Utah biomedical engineering professor Jan Kubanek, Spire makes a noninvasive transcranial ultrasound device for deep brain stimulation, and they’re in clinical trials for depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and PTSD.

Professional Associations

Focused Ultrasound Foundation

Created in 2006, the Focused Ultrasound foundation promotes research and development of therapeutic focused ultrasound, through funding research, hosting conferences, running “centers of excellence” at university hospitals, and sponsoring internships and fellowships for students.

They have a sister organization in Hong Kong, the Focused Ultrasound Hong Kong Foundation.

Neurological disorders are one of their three research areas (the others are cancer and veterinary medicine). In 2021 they spent $7.2M on funding research.

ITRUSST

International Transcranial Ultrasonic Safety and Standards is a consortium working on engineering and safety standards for transcranial ultrasound.

They were launched in 2021 and include researchers, regulators, and industry partners (like BrainBox.). They also run conferences (like FUN23, this past summer.)

Nonprofits and FROs

Forest Neurotech

Forest Neurotech, founded by BCI research and engineering experts Sumner Norman, Will Biederman, and Tyson Aflalo, is developing a minimally invasive ultrasound chip for both measuring and modulating brain activity, using Butterfly Networks’ ultrasound-on-chip technology.

High-resolution ultrasound can measure patterns of blood flow in the brain; in some of Norman’s earlier research, he found that ultrasound measurements were able to predict which way monkeys would move their eyes and limbs.

Tiny Blue Dot Foundation

This research foundation, founded by Elizabeth Koch, is dedicated to discovering techniques to help people “expand the boundaries of their Perception Box”, including education, meditation, psychedelics and neuromodulation.

Researchers With Interest in Ultrasound for Cognitive/Affective Applications

Jay Sanguinetti and his Noninvasive Cognitive Enhancement Lab at the University of New Mexico researches ultrasound in combination with meditation to improve mood, focus, and learning.

Taylor Kuhn, a neuropsychology researcher at UCLA, is running a clinical trial on ultrasound targeted at the amygdala to improve emotional regulation.

Greg Fonzo, a psychiatry professor at the University of Texas, is recruiting for a clinical study of ultrasound targeted to the amygdala for affective disorders

Nicco Reggente, neuroscientist and founder of the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, is researching transcranial ultrasound as a means to enter meditative states.

Bashar Badran and his Neuro-X Lab at the University of South Carolina is researching ultrasound neuromodulation of the amygdala to reduce anxiety.