We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Wearable Ultrasound Device Provides Long-Term, Wireless Muscle Monitoring

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 01 Nov 2024
Print article
Image: Wearable ultrasound device offers continuous, long-term monitoring of muscle activity (Photo courtesy of Muyang Lin/UC San Diego)
Image: Wearable ultrasound device offers continuous, long-term monitoring of muscle activity (Photo courtesy of Muyang Lin/UC San Diego)

Electromyography (EMG) is the current clinical standard for monitoring muscle activity, utilizing metal electrodes placed on the skin to capture electrical signals from muscles. Despite its long-standing use, EMG faces challenges such as low resolution and weak signals. For instance, signals from multiple muscle fibers often blend, complicating the isolation of contributions from individual fibers. On the other hand, ultrasound offers high-resolution imaging that penetrates deep tissues, providing detailed insights into muscle function. Now, researchers have introduced a new wearable ultrasound technology for muscle monitoring that could serve as a promising alternative to EMG.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego (La Jolla, CA, USA) have created a wearable ultrasound device capable of long-term, wireless monitoring of muscle activity, with potential applications in healthcare and human-machine interfaces. The device is encased in flexible silicone elastomer and includes three main components: a single transducer for sending and receiving ultrasound waves, a custom-designed wireless circuit that controls the transducer, records data, and transmits it to a computer, and a lithium-polymer battery that provides power for at least three hours. Designed to adhere to the skin with an adhesive layer, the device allows for high-resolution tracking of muscle function without the need for invasive procedures. Additionally, the ultrasound technology is compact, wireless, and energy-efficient.

A significant innovation of this work is the utilization of a single ultrasound transducer to effectively sense deep tissues. This transducer emits intensity-controlled ultrasound waves and captures radiofrequency signals rich in information, enabling clinical applications such as measuring diaphragm thickness. By leveraging these signals, the device achieves high spatial resolution, which is essential for isolating specific muscle movements. To gain further insights from these signals, the researchers developed an artificial intelligence algorithm that maps the signals to their corresponding muscle distributions, allowing it to accurately identify specific hand gestures from the collected data.

In tests, the device was worn over the rib cage to monitor diaphragm motion and thickness, critical metrics for evaluating respiratory health. When worn on the rib cage, the device was able to measure diaphragm thickness with submillimeter precision. This measurement is clinically significant for assessing diaphragm dysfunction and predicting outcomes in ventilated patients. Additionally, by analyzing muscle motion, the researchers could differentiate between various breathing patterns, such as shallow versus deep breaths, which could aid in diagnosing conditions related to respiratory irregularities, including asthma, pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a small trial, the device successfully distinguished the breathing patterns of individuals with COPD from those of healthy participants.

Furthermore, in research published in Nature Electronics, the team demonstrated the device's application on the forearm to capture hand and wrist muscle activity, enabling its use as a human-machine interface for controlling a robotic arm and playing a virtual game. When used on the forearm, the device precisely tracked muscle motion in the hands and wrists. Thanks to the artificial intelligence algorithm, the system can recognize various hand gestures based solely on ultrasound signals. It can identify 13 degrees of freedom, covering 10 finger joints and three wrist rotation angles, thus capturing even minor movements with high sensitivity. In proof-of-concept tests, participants controlled a robotic arm to pipette water into beakers and played a virtual game, steering a virtual bird through obstacles using wrist movements. Going forward, the researchers aim to enhance the technology’s accuracy, portability, energy efficiency, and computational capabilities.

 

New
Gold Member
X-Ray QA Meter
T3 AD Pro
New
3T MRI Scanner
MAGNETOM Cima.X
New
Ultrasound Imaging System
P12 Elite
Portable X-ray Unit
AJEX130HN

Print article

Channels

MRI

view channel
Image: A molecular trap for exotic metals promises improved diagnostics and faster drug development (Photo courtesy of Tomáš Belloň/IOCB Prague)

New Compounds to Benefit Kidney Disease Patients Unable to Undergo MRI Examinations

Lanthanides play a vital role in biomedical fields, including as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and in radiotherapeutics. However, enhancing their binding strength within pharmaceutical... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: Example of AI analysis of PET/CT images (Photo courtesy of Academic Radiology; DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2024.08.043)

AI Analysis of PET/CT Images Predicts Side Effects of Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer

Immunotherapy has significantly advanced the treatment of primary lung cancer, but it can sometimes lead to a severe side effect known as interstitial lung disease. This condition is characterized by lung... Read more

General/Advanced Imaging

view channel
Image: Transaxial image of a lung cancer screening CT scan showing coronary artery calcium in all three coronary arteries (Photo courtesy of CMAJ DOI/10.1503/cmaj.231602)

Lung Scans Detect Heart Disease in Patients Without Cardiac Symptoms

Low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) is a standard method used for lung cancer screening. Now, new research has shown that these CT scans can also detect coronary artery calcium, a significant risk... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.