Did you know that organ stiffness is a sign of possible diseases? Engineer Xuanhe Zhao from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) explains this with a very clear example. “A healthy liver is as wobbly as a soft-boiled egg. The patient is more like a hard-boiled egg,” he says. Together with a multidisciplinary team, a mechanical engineering professor from the above-mentioned institution develops an innovative ultrasonic sticker which detects these differences within the human body. This is achieved due to a number of significant advantages compared to currently available methods.
The sticker is the size of a stamp., those that are glued to the envelopes. Researchers suggest using it on different external areas of the body, on the skin, for example on the back of the hand. From there, Zhao says, “it can detect these differences deep inside and warn when organ failure occurs.”
In this exclusive interview with HypertextAn MIT researcher details his ingenuity and the challenges his team faced in developing this ultrasonic sticker. In addition, it reveals the steps that still need to be taken to begin the first human trials.
How does an ultrasonic sticker work and what is it for?
The purpose of this device is to detect signs of disease in organs., such as liver or kidney failure, in addition to the progression of solid tumors. According to the US National Cancer Institute, these are abnormal tissue formations that usually do not contain areas of cysts or fluid.
Key to ultrasonic sticker This is the presence of a sensor that sends sound waves through the skin to the body. They are reflected in the internal organs and returned to the glue. In this way, the patterns are read as a signal of stiffness, which in this case can be measured continuously.
This is one of the fundamental advantages of this invention: the ability to perform measurements outside of specific cases over long periods of time. “With this wearable sticker, we can continuously monitor changes in stiffness over long periods of time. This is vital for early diagnosis of internal organ failure,” emphasizes the MIT mechanical engineer.
Xuanhe Zhao: “It was not easy to come up with an idea that was completely different from what was already known.”
Pending approval for human trials, the ultrasound patch was tested on mice. The laboratory’s experience is promising. Compared to elastography, a type of imaging test that looks at organs to see if they are stiffer than normal, according to Medicine Plus— allows monitoring for 48 hours continuously. Along that path monitors for possible subtle changes that may indicate disease progression.
“Traditional elastography uses a bulky hand-held probe to take images of static patients in hospitals. In this case, we realized that we could turn the ultrasonic sensors into thin patches and stick them to the body using soft adhesive connectors,” Zhao told this publication.
How to explain in simple language the operation of an ultrasonic sticker?
Essentially, it sends sound waves to the organs and causes them to vibrate slightly. By capturing this “oscillation” we can measure the stiffness.
Why do we see glue on the hand and not on another part of the body?
This is just a demonstration. We can place ultrasound stickers on different areas of the skin to measure the stiffness of the relevant organs.
In what cases are you planning to use such solutions?
There are many potential applications. For example, it can be used in patients who have just had a liver transplant. In this case, acute liver failure or rejection in the intensive care unit is possible for early diagnosis. Elastography can only provide instantaneous measurements. Instead, an ultrasonic patch can provide continuous monitoring of changes in stiffness over several days. The benefit is summarized as follows: snapshot or continuous monitoring..
Having looked at the benefits, can you tell us what the main challenges have been in this development?
Some aspects were difficult. From the inception of the idea, design and subsequent production. We are faced with problems such as the desire for miniaturization. Also make the sticker smooth. The process consists of come up with an idea that is fundamentally different from previous solutions.
Previous attempts have been made to create thin, stretchable ultrasound probes. But if you make them flexible, the quality of the images will seriously suffer. We came up with something completely different. A thin, rigid ultrasonic transducer that works in combination with a soft adhesive connector. Interdisciplinary research is crucial along this path. For this invention, we combined soft materials, electronics and biomedical imaging.
So what steps should you take? When do you plan to start human trials?
We need to get approval for these trials. Specifically, we are seeking approval of this technology from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We need to solve several problems. For example, compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) required by that organization is required.
Ultrasound sticker that can save lives and make the work of doctors easier
Following animal testing, the team is working with doctors to adapt the ultrasound patch for use by patients recovering from organ transplants. It’s interesting to note that they don’t expect big changes to the current design.
“For real the beauty of this system is that because it is portable, it will allow for easy, adaptable and continuous monitoring over time,” said Shrike Zhang, a professor at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the study. “This is likely to allow patients to suffer less while providing long-term, near real-time monitoring of the progression of their disease, and will also free up trained hospital staff to perform other important tasks,” they concluded in a dialogue with the official publication of this organizations.
Co-authors of the study are Xiaoyu Chen and Chonghe Wang, both of MIT, and Xiao-Chuan Liu, a professor at the University of Southern California (USC). Details of the study, which was supported by the US National Institutes of Health, were recently published in the journal. Science achievements.
Source: Hiper Textual
