[May 23, 2023: Staff Writer, The Brighter Side of News]
A wearable ultrasonic-system-on-patch applied to the chest to measure cardiac activity. Photo by Muyang Lin for the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. (credit: UCSD)
In a giant leap forward for wearable ultrasound technology, a team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has successfully developed the world’s first fully integrated wearable ultrasound system for deep-tissue monitoring.
This groundbreaking innovation opens up the possibilities for potentially life-saving heart monitoring, even for individuals on the move. The remarkable achievement comes as a result of extensive research led by Professor Sheng Xu at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, one of the world’s leading wearable ultrasound laboratories.
The paper, titled “A fully integrated wearable ultrasound system for deep tissue monitoring in moving subjects,” is published in Nature Biotechnology, outlining the significant progress made in the field.
Muyang Lin, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Nanoengineering at UC San Diego and first author of the study, expressed his enthusiasm about the project, saying, “This project delivers a complete solution to wearable ultrasound technology – not only wearable sensors but also wearable control electronics.” form factors. We’ve built a truly wearable device that can wirelessly sense deep tissue vital signs.”
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The research builds on the lab’s previous work in soft ultrasonic sensor design. However, unlike earlier soft ultrasonic sensors that required tethering cables for data and power transmission, this fully integrated wearable ultrasonic system-on-patch (USoP) includes a small, flexible control circuit that can be used to collect data. and communicates wirelessly with an ultrasound transducer array to transmit. , To interpret the data and track moving subjects, a machine learning component has been incorporated into the system.
According to the UC San Diego lab’s findings, the ultrasonic system-on-patch enables continuous tracking of physiological signals from tissues up to 164 mm deep, allowing continuous measurement of central blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output and more Is. Physical signs for up to twelve hours at a time.
Lin emphasized the potential life-saving applications of this technology, saying, “This technology has great potential to save and improve lives. The sensor can evaluate cardiovascular function in motion. Abnormal values of blood pressure and cardiac output, Have symptoms of heart failure, either at rest or during exercise.”
A wearable ultrasonic-system-on-patch for deep tissue monitoring. (Credit: Muyang Lin for the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego)
In addition, the USoP represents a significant breakthrough in the development of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), which refers to a network of Internet-connected medical devices wirelessly transmitting physiological signals for computing, analysis, and professional diagnosis. Broadcasts to the cloud.
Professor Sheng Xu’s laboratory has been at the forefront of wearable ultrasound technology, turning stationary and portable devices into dispensable and wearable ones, revolutionizing health care monitoring. The lab’s success can be partly attributed to its close collaboration with physicians.
Highlighting this collaboration, Lin said, “Although we are engineers, we know the medical problems that clinicians face. We have close relationships with our clinical partners and always receive valuable feedback from them . This new wearable ultrasound technology is a unique solution to address many important sign monitoring challenges in clinical practice.”
Exposed electronics within a wearable ultrasonic-system-on-patch for deep tissue monitoring. (Credit: Muyang Lin for the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego)
During the development process, the team discovered that the system had more capabilities than originally anticipated. Lin explains, “At the beginning of this project, we aimed to build a wireless blood pressure sensor. Later, we thought that this system could measure many more important physiological parameters than blood pressure, such as cardiac output, Arterial stiffness, inspiratory volume, and more, all of which are essential parameters to be monitored in daily health care or in the hospital.”
However, challenges arose when the subject was in motion, leading to relative motion between the wearable ultrasonic sensor and the tissue target, requiring frequent manual adjustments. To solve this problem, the team developed a machine learning algorithm capable of automatically analyzing the received signals and selecting the most appropriate channel to keep track of the moving target.
Fully exposed electronics within a wearable ultrasonic-system-on-patch for deep tissue monitoring. (Credit: Muyang Lin for the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego)
Xiang Zhang, a master’s student in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego and co-first author of the paper, explains, “We ultimately made machine learning model generalization work by implementing an advanced optimization algorithm. This algorithm can automatically Minimize domain distribution anomalies between different topics, which means machine intelligence can be transferred from one topic to another. We can train the algorithm on one topic and retrain it on many other new topics with minimal retraining. can be implemented with
Successful implementation of machine learning algorithms opens up new possibilities for real-time monitoring of deep tissues in individuals engaged in physical activity. This eliminates the need for constant manual adjustments, ensuring accurate and reliable measurements, even when subjects are moving. This breakthrough further reinforces the potential impact of wearable ultrasound technology in various healthcare applications.
Overview of the fully integrated USOP. (credit: Nature Biotechnology)
Looking ahead, the team plans to conduct more extensive testing of the wearable ultrasound system among larger populations. Sharing his future vision, Xiaoxiang Gao, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Nanoengineering at UC San Diego and co-first author of the study, said, “So far, we have only validated device performance on a small but diverse population. As we see this device as the next generation of deep-tissue monitoring devices, clinical trials are our next step.”
The development of a fully integrated wearable ultrasound system also paves the way for its integration into the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). By wirelessly connecting medical devices to the Internet, the system can transmit physiological data to the cloud for further analysis, enabling healthcare professionals to remotely monitor patients’ vital signs and make informed decisions.
This advancement in IoMT not only enhances patient care, but also has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery by improving access and reducing the need for in-person visits.
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