A research team from MIT has developed a truly incredible little patch. It is an adhesive patch capable of performing continuous ultrasound scans on the wearer for two days in a row.
According to a paper published on Thursday Science (I link it here), the device could allow doctors to continuously monitor patients' internal organs without an ultrasound specialist. Currently the system is not able to transfer data, and therefore is still connected to the machinery, but it can allow monitoring without a human operator.
First step towards continuous and mobile imaging
Imagine the future possibility of real-time cardiac diagnostics during exercise testing, or lung imaging at home for early diagnosis of pneumonia. The possibilities are almost endless.
The patch, which is approximately the size of a postage stamp, is made up of an ultrasound probe and a gelatinous layer that allows greater adherence to the skin and better transmission of signals.
In their study, the researchers attached and left the devices on 15 people for 48 hours. Among these, the same co-author of the study Xiao Yu Chen, who candidly declares: “I forgot I had it on.”
'Ultrasound' patch: test results
The researchers used the patch to examine changes in blood vessels and muscles, and to observe (among many areas) the heart and lungs. The current work aims to make the device independent from a machine, and therefore fully functional remotely.
Future evolutions of this ultrasound patch will allow for continuous and real-time diagnostics of internal organs. It will be like wearing a patch that allows us to see inside our body, literally.
Combined with artificial intelligence algorithms that will be able to analyze data, compare it with huge databases and alert us in case of anomalies, this technological patch could make a difference.
