Open-LIFU by Openwater: status and timeline

Open-LIFU

Make focused-ultrasound brain stimulation cheap and portable, so circuits behind depression, tremor or pain can be treated from outside the skull without implants or a hospital-sized machine.

PilotStage 3 of 5

Research device at MIT, Barcelona, NC State/UNC and others; depression pilot showed 35% remission

Updated 7 May 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Larger randomised controlled trials

Depression pilot results (University of Arizona)7 Apr 2025Complete.
Deployed at NC State and UNC for neurology research7 May 2026Complete.
Larger randomised controlled trialsNot yet reached.

Most important updates

Current obstacles

Small, open-label evidenceThe depression result comes from 20 people without a sham group; larger randomised controlled studies are planned.

Physics limits

The skull distorts the beamBone thickness and density vary across the head and between people, bending and weakening ultrasound, so hitting a small target precisely needs per-person correction.
Unclear mechanismHow gentle ultrasound changes neuron firing is not settled, so dose, timing and lasting effect are still found by trial and error.

How it works

3 parts

Focus

An array steers sound to a point

Many ultrasound elements fire with tiny timing offsets so their waves add up at one chosen spot inside the head.

Modulate

Low intensity, no heating

The energy is far below what destroys tissue; it is meant to nudge neurons' activity for a while rather than ablate them.

Wear

No fixed head frame

Unlike clinic systems that clamp the head, the array is worn, so the person can move during a 10-minute session.

Spec sheet

Spec	Open-LIFU
Depression protocol	11 x 10 min over 3 weeks^R (reported)
Substantial symptom drop	45-60% of 20 participants^R (reported)
Remission	35%^R (reported)
Depression target	Anterior medial prefrontal cortex^R (reported)
Regulatory status	Not FDA cleared^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

Thu 7 May

Minor: NC State and UNC deploy Open-LIFU to study tremor, spasticity and transverse myelitisPressPartnership

Mon 7 Apr 2025

Minor: Open-LIFU depression pilot: 35% of 20 patients reach remission after under two hours of ultrasoundPressTest

About Openwater

The team behind Open-LIFU

Openwater

Open-source optical blood flow and focused ultrasound devices

Openwater is a San Francisco company founded in 2016 by Mary Lou Jepsen that builds low-cost, open-source devices using light and ultrasound: Open-Motion reads blood flow in the brain to spot strokes, Open-LIFU stimulates brain circuits.

Open-sources its designs: software under the Affero GPL, hardware under a Creative Commons licence.
Raised $100M in total by August 2024 from investors including Khosla Ventures and Peter Gabriel.
Neither device is FDA cleared yet; the stroke detector is furthest along. Aims for units under $1,000.

Company profile →

Founded: 201610 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Works in: NeurotechNon-invasive brain reading
Coverage: 2 programs · 4 updateslatest 7 May 2026checked 11 Oct
Partners: University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of ArizonaNC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill
Investors: Khosla VenturesPlum Alley Ventures
People: Mary Lou Jepsen (opens diagnosticsworldnews.com)Founder and chairAaron Timm (opens diagnosticsworldnews.com)CEO

Spec

Open-LIFU

Depression protocol

11 x 10 min over 3 weeks^R (reported)

Substantial symptom drop

45-60% of 20 participants^R (reported)

Remission

35%^R (reported)

Depression target

Anterior medial prefrontal cortex^R (reported)

Regulatory status

Not FDA cleared^R (reported)