A Novel Bioadhesive Ultrasound Strategy for Organ Imaging

Construction of BAUS Device

As described by the authors, this device consists of two parts: a thin, stiff ultrasound probe and a coupling layer consisting of a composite hydrogel that adheres directly to the skin. Specifically, the probe consists of a suite of high-performance piezoelectric elements with different center frequencies. Each element can be controlled by the circuits of the BAUS probe. Meanwhile, the hydrogel made up of chitosan-polyacrylamide interpenetrating polymer networks was chosen to be the BAUS couplant. Then they use a thin polyurethane membrane to encapsulate the hydrogel to avoid the dehydration of the hydrogel and to provide a comfortable connection between the skin and the couplant surface. The hydrogel complex was further coated by a gauzy bioadhesive layer that contains several different esterification.

Conclusion

Compared with the traditional ultrasound device, Zhao's team designed a bioadhesive ultrasound device that can be directly attached to the skin to achieve long-term monitoring of subcutaneous tissues and organs. Owning its high resolution and easy operation, this device may bring about a major revolution in the field of ultrasonic disease diagnosis.

Reference

1. Wang, C., et al. Bioadhesive ultrasound for long-term continuous imaging of diverse organs. Science. 377(6605): 517-523.

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