Towards A Universal Device for Point-of-Care Medicine: A Custom Transducer for Long-Term Monitoring of Local Vascular Flow Via Ultrasound Imaging

Universalized point-of-care medicine demands long-term, automated, and ubiquitous solutions to monitoring patients. Ultrasound imaging can be found in nearly all fields of healthcare. Therefore, developing a platform for continuous ultrasound acquisition could transform the point-of-care arena. However, long-term monitoring using ultrasound imaging requires both the simplification of large quantities of data and a hands-free, flexible device. Here, we reduce data-heavy spectral Doppler imaging by tracking local vascular flow in vitro and in vivo as a single, clinically interpretable value over time. Imaging is performed using a novel probe designed specifically for continuous monitoring with ultrasound. This semi-conformal specialty probe was fabricated by removing the plastic casing of a commercially available probe, bending the tip of the piezoelectric transducer head at a nearly ninety-degree angle, then casting the electronic components in silicone rubber, which allowed the probe to rest comfortably on any surface. No statistically significant difference existed when comparing the Doppler fluid velocity detected by the specialty probe with two commercial probes, where velocity directly leads to calculation of vascular flow. Additionally, continuously tracked velocity over the period of an hour and during periods of fluctuating flow rates demonstrated the potential for accurate, long-term monitoring using this ultrasound device. Thus, translating this technology from bench to bedside could provide a universal solution to point-of-care medicine.