And this patch from the University of California – San Diego monitors blood pressure “deep inside the body”, explains this team from the University of California, San Diego in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. A new non-invasive and, above all, continuous monitoring mode that will make it possible to detect cardiovascular problems earlier and with greater precision.
The patch is therefore intended to monitor continuously and in real time variations in blood pressure in patients suffering from heart or lung disease, as well as in patients who are seriously ill or undergoing surgery. The patch uses ultrasound and therefore could be used to non-invasively track other physiological signs from sites inside the body.
Until now, the patches were limited to detecting surface signals or just under the skin. "But it's like looking at just the tip of the iceberg," says researcher Sheng Xu, professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego. “By integrating ultrasound technology into the patch, we are able to non-invasively pick up many other signals and identify new biological events deep below the surface of the skin. »
The 3rd dimension, depth: it is a 3rd third dimension, the "depth" which is thus added to the detection spectrum of portable electronics, summarizes the author: because the ultrasound patch can continuously monitor blood pressure central in the main arteries at a depth of up to four centimeters under the skin. A technology that will most likely be useful in many hospital procedures, especially of course in cardiovascular surgery, where accurate real-time assessment of central blood pressure is required.
A convenient alternative to current clinical methods: by measuring central blood pressure – which differs from blood pressure measured using an inflated cuff around the arm, or peripheral blood pressure – the device indicates blood pressure that is more accurate and better predictor of heart disease risk. Not to mention the non-invasiveness. Because the measurement of the central arterial pressure is carried out according to:
- an invasive clinical method that involves a catheter inserted into a blood vessel in a patient's arm, groin, or neck and guiding it to the heart.
- There is also a non-invasive method but its data is less precise: it involves placing a pen-shaped probe, called a tonometer, on the skin directly above a large blood vessel. To get a good reading, the tonometer must be held steady, at the perfect angle, and with the right pressure. The results therefore frequently differ between the tests and the technicians.
This convenient ultrasound patch alternative, soft and stretchy, wearable against the skin and provides accurate central blood pressure readings, tested on a male subject, gives more consistent and accurate recordings than other blood pressure measurement methods. central blood pressure.
Certainly, this patch will have to be improved and tested before reaching clinical practice, but it is already a major advance to have adapted ultrasound technology into a portable platform.