Engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed the world’s first wearable ultrasound that can monitor vitals such as blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output even in deep tissues in real-time.
The device, called Ultrasonic-System-on-Patch (USoP), is completely wireless and can track tissues even when a person is moving. It can peer as deep as 164 mm below the skin, allowing doctors to track vital signs, like an individual’s cardiovascular health, without any invasive procedures.
“The key element of this study is the design of the ultrasound circuit,” Sheng Xu, associate professor and Jacobs Faculty Scholar at the University of California, San Diego, said in a statement.
“In our previous patches, the ultrasound probe was connected to a flexible cable for power and data transmission. In this patch, the cables are replaced with a wearable circuit, which can pre-process and wirelessly transmit the ultrasound data to a back-end station for further analysis,” Xu added.
The USoP’s potential applications are wide-ranging. It can help doctors monitor heart conditions more effectively, providing critical data during exercise or daily activities. For healthy individuals, it offers real-time insights into their workout intensity, enabling personalised fitness plans.
The device is also built to be part of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), a network of medical devices connected to the internet. By transmitting data wirelessly to the cloud, the USoP facilitates remote analysis and professional diagnosis, leading to improved healthcare.
The research team says it is planning to conduct larger-scale clinical trials to further validate the device’s performance and explore its broader applications.
“Validating our patch in a larger population is a crucial next step. We are working on validating our sensor against existing medical devices,” said the study’s first author Muyang Lin.
The fully-integrated, wearable ultrasound system represents a significant advancement in medical technology, promising better patient care and more accessible healthcare monitoring.
