The prototype skin patch produced images comparable to those of standard handheld devices used to visualize the heart before and after exercise.Visualization of the heart during exercise may aid in cardiovascular diagnostics
health
January 25, 2023
A wearable ultrasound sensor the size of a postage stamp produces images of the heart during exercise Xu Laboratory, University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
A small, flexible patch that you wear on your chest can create an ultrasound image of your heart as you move. The first device of its kind could help diagnose a variety of medical conditions by imaging the heart during exercise.
Doctors now perform ultrasound imaging of the heart, called an echocardiogram, by placing a handheld device in the chest that sends and receives ultrasound waves. This is used, for example, to visualize organs after a heart attack or in people with heart failure where blood is not being pumped around the body strongly enough.
Doctors are now imaging someone’s heart before and after exercise to assess problems that only become apparent when the organ has to work harder, said Hongjie Hu of the University of California, San Diego. He says that monitoring heart activity during exercise can help with the diagnosis.
Fu and his colleagues therefore created a wearable device for generating and receiving ultrasound from piezoelectric materials. This device can convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and vice versa.
A patch the size of a postage stamp converts electrical signals into vibrations that produce ultrasound. It also detects reflected ultrasonic waves and converts them into electrical signals.
The first prototype is connected to a computer that analyzes electrical signals and converts them into images.
When worn by testers, the prototype produced images of the heart that rivaled standard handheld devices, the team reports.
“Until now, there was no way to see the heart while exercising,” says Hu.
A spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation said the device should be able to display the movement and output of the heart, which would help diagnose conditions such as heart failure and heart valve problems.
The team is also working on a wireless version, the results of which will be published in a future paper.
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