Wearable organ sensor could cut sudden deaths
A NEW wearable sensor could prevent strokes and heart attacks before symptoms even begin.
The device, which is the size of a large sticking plaster, continuously monitors blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output and other bodily functions for 12 hours at a time.
The ultrasonic system-on-patch (USoP) can be fixed to the chest and essentially forgotten about as people go about their daily chores.
It has been hailed as a “giant leap forward” in monitoring technology. Muyang Lin, a PhD candidate at San Diego’s California University, helped develop the sensor.
Unique
He said: “We made a truly wearable device that can sense deep tissue vital signs wirelessly. This has lots of potential to save and improve lives.”
The USoP was created as part of the Internet of Medical Things – a network of medical devices connected to computers.
Mr Lin said: “Although we are engineers, we do know the medical problems clinicians face.
“This wearable ultrasound technology is a unique solution to address many vital sign monitoring challenges in clinical practice.” Mr Lin told Nature Biotechnology that he and his team were surprised to discover USoP could be a lot more helpful than they initially anticipated.
He added: “At the very beginning of this project, we aimed to build a wireless blood pressure sensor.
“Later on, as we were making the circuit, designing the algorithm and collecting clinical insights, we figured the system could measure many more essential parameters for daily health care or in-hospital monitoring.”
A clinical trial is now planned.