A clinically validated, wearable ultrasound patch for continuous and non-invasive blood pressure monitoring has been developed to improve the lives of people with diabetes.
Scientists from the University of California San Diego have created the patch to offer users a “continuous stream of blood pressure waveform data.”
Having been tested on more than 100 people, this device is the first wearable ultrasound blood pressure sensor to undergo comprehensive clinical trials.
According to experts, this new ultrasound patch can help people better manage their cardiovascular health.
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Lead author Dr Sai Zhou said: “Traditional blood pressure measurements with a cuff, which are limited to providing one-time blood pressure values, can miss critical patterns.
“Our wearable patch offers a continuous stream of blood pressure waveform data, allowing it to reveal detailed trends in blood pressure fluctuations.”
The size of a postage stamp, the soft and stretchy device adheres to the skin to provide precise, real-time readings of blood pressure deep within the body.
The wearable patch is made of a silicone elastomer that houses an array of small piezoelectric transducers sandwiched between stretchable copper electrodes.
It tracks changes in the diameter of blood vessels when the transducers transmit and receive ultrasound waves. This is then converted into blood pressure values.
The patch has undergone a number of comprehensive tests to ensure it is safe to use and that the results are accurate.
During the studies, more than 100 people took part by wearing the patch in different activities and settings, such as raising an arm or leg, performing mental arithmetic, meditating, eating meals, cycling and consuming energy drinks.
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Corresponding author Professor Sheng Xu said: “A big advance of this work is how thoroughly we validated this technology, thanks to the work of our medical collaborators.
“Blood pressure can be all over the place depending on factors like white coat syndrome, masked hypertension, daily activities or use of medication, which makes it tricky to get an accurate diagnosis or manage treatment.”
Professor Xu added: “That’s why it was so important for us to test this device in a wide variety of real-world and clinical settings.
“Many studies on wearable devices skip these steps during development, but we made sure to cover it all.”
Read the study in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
