MIT experts create 'revolutionary' stamp-sized device for hassle free ultrasound of organs

In order to get away with bulky and specialised ultrasound equipment in hospitals, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has built a device that can accurately image internal organs. Measuring no bigger than a stamp, the device can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours. In the research published in the journal Science, the experts noted that they aim to make the technology as wearable and accessible as buying Band-Aids at the pharmacy.

How does the device work?

The device was tested during recent tests wherein the experts patched it to a volunteer's skin after applying a liquid gel for strong adhesion. Once stuck, the device then sends sound waves into the body that echo off internal structures and the collected signals are translated into visual images. In their study, the researchers noted that the reflected waves produced high-resolution images of a patient’s heart, lungs, and other deep organs.

Describing the device's accuracy, the study noted that it was able to observe the changing diameter of major blood vessels along with the change in the heart's shape during the aforementioned activities. Moreover, the expanding and shrinking of the stomach when the volunteers drank and passed the juice and microdamage in the muscles during exercise were also accurately imaged. 

Advantages of the device

According to the study experts, this device can be used for imaging the organs in patients without the assistance of a technician. "We envision a few patches adhered to different locations on the body, and the patches would communicate with your cellphone, where AI algorithms would analyse the images on demand", senior study author and MIT Professor Xuanhe Zhao said in an official statement.

"We believe we’ve opened a new era of wearable imaging: With a few patches on your body, you could see your internal organs". According to a report by The Guardian, he also added that the new technology would 'revolutionise' medical imaging. 

Xiaoyu Chen, another study author, said that the team is now working to make the ultrasound device wireless and is developing software algorithms based on artificial intelligence (AI) to better interpret the signals into images. Talking about its additional usage, he said that besides monitoring various internal organs, it can also observe the progression of tumours, as well as the development of fetuses in the womb.