Design of Point-of-Care Ultrasound Device to be Used in At-Home Setting—A Holistic Approach

The primary purpose of this work was to design and implement a compact, battery-powered, fully wearable applicator for delivering therapeutic low-frequency (20–40 kHz), low-intensity (100 mW/cm2 ISPTP) (LFLI) ultrasound to enable treatment of chronic wounds in home setting. Such a device does not currently exist, and in addition to engineering aspects associated with electromechanical design, its implementation requires a novel approach involving consideration of feedback received not only from healthcare professionals but also caregivers. One strong motivation for the novel design approach is to enable individuals with chronic wounds to enhance self-care management of wounds in the home setting instead of a hospital or outpatient clinic setting. In the home setting, the device may be exposed to physical maltreatment, requiring precautions with respect to its sturdiness. Although the holistic approach presented has been applied to the design of an applicator for chronic wounds, the design considerations and execution are transferable to any device targeted for home use. The implementation exemplified here examines transformation of an early, relatively fragile design into a robust, time-programmable, safe tool. The modification, which includes comprehensive reconfiguration and redesign of the electronics driving a piezoelectric transducer, is presented along with methodology devised with the field feedback obtained from focus groups. This feedback evinced that in addition to electrical engineering, an extensive background in mechanical engineering, material science, biology, and clinical practice is needed to fabricate an end-user friendly, quality-of-life improving, ergonomic device.