A new ultrasound probe that adheres to the skin like a sticker could allow doctors to monitor organs over a period of days.
The probe combines rigid and flexible layers, solving a major problem with earlier wearable ultrasound probes: stretchable materials that conformed to the skin distorted imagery of the organs underneath. The new device, reported in the journal Science, combines firmness with flexibility. A rigid ultrasound probe is coupled to the skin with a flexible hydrogel layer. Researchers tested the device on 15 people, imaging their arteries, veins, lungs, hearts, and stomachs over 48 hours.
“It can do the imaging at a clinical grade,” says Chonghe Wang, a bioengineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Ultrasound, or sonography, uses sound waves reflected off internal organs to image what’s inside the body. Typically, this involves a technician holding a piezoelectric transducer — colloquially known as a probe — which both sends and receives sound waves. But this kind of short-term scan is limited because it cannot detect conditions that develop over time. In inflammatory bowel disorders, for example, the bowel...
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