Objective Measurement for Psychiatry: Universal Brain's ERP System

Kazu Okuda, MD, described how the company's UB ERP System—a dry-electrode electroencephalography (EEG) platform—was designed to bring objective, scalable brain function measurement to psychiatric practice. The system records event-related potentials (ERPs), task-based EEG responses captured while a patient performs an activity such as an attention task. From this recording, the platform derives an amplitude-based brain function score, reported in microvolts, that can be tracked across serial recordings to monitor change over time. Okuda said psychiatry has historically lacked a routinely usable objective measure for practice, in contrast with other medical specialties, and positioned ERP-based scoring as a potential parallel to blood testing in psychiatric care. He noted that ERP measures are considered reliable and stable indicators of brain function, supporting their use as a repeatable clinical marker.¹

Okuda's interest in a scalable brain function measure traced to his medical training, when wet-electrode EEG required roughly 15 to 20 minutes of setup and required patients to wash their hair afterward—a burden he said limited use largely to neurology applications such as epilepsy or sleep evaluation. When he started Universal Brain, Okuda said, he was initially skeptical of dry-electrode EEG, citing published reports of gaps in signal quality and reliability compared with wet electrodes. Okuda said "when I started company 4 years ago, dry electrode EEG was really emerging, and the technology was really advancing," and after confirming performance, the company began developing a dry-electrode system.

The resulting device eliminates the need for scalp gel. Okuda said "you don't need any gel on the scalp—all you have to do is wear the cap, confirm the contact to the scalp, and figure out the signal quality, and then you can get a very clear, reliable EEG signal with a dry EEG system now." The UB ERP System recently received FDA 510(k) clearance for rapid brain function measurement in psychiatric care, with device setup through analyzed results completable in under 5 minutes.² Okuda said the platform's goal is to make an objective, scalable brain function biomarker part of routine psychiatric practice, rather than a tool reserved for specialized research settings.

Dr Okuda is founder and CEO of Universal Brain.

References

1. Kappenman ES, Luck SJ. Best practices for event-related potential research in clinical populations. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2016;1(2):110-115.

2. Universal Brain receives FDA 510(k) clearance for rapid brain-function measurement platform for psychiatry. Press release. July 13, 2026. Accessed August 18, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260713983260/en/Universal-Brain-Receives-FDA-510k-Clearance-for-Rapid-Brain-Function-Measurement-Platform-for-Psychiatry