Plenty of room under the skin

Sheng Xu

Department of NanoEngineering and Chemical Engineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0448, 92093 La Jolla CA, USA (shengxu@ucsd.edu)

Abstract

The use of wearable electronic devices that can acquire vital signs from the human body noninvasively and continuously is a significant trend for healthcare. The combination of materials design and advanced microfabrication techniques enables the integration of various components and devices onto a wearable platform, resulting in functional systems with minimal limitations on the human body. Physiological signals from deep tissues are particularly valuable as they have a stronger and faster correlation with the internal events within the body compared to signals obtained from the surface of the skin. In this presentation, I will demonstrate a soft ultrasonic technology that can noninvasively and continuously acquire dynamic information about deep tissues and central organs. I will also showcase examples of this technology's use in recording blood pressure and flow waveforms in central vessels, monitoring cardiac chamber activities, and measuring core body temperatures. The soft ultrasonic technology presented represents a platform with vast potential for applications in consumer electronics, defense medicine, and clinical practices.

Figure 1: Photograph of a wearable ultrasound phased array on the human neck for color Doppler blood flow monitoring.

References

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