Wearable Ultrasound System Using Low-Voltage Time Delay Spectrometry for Dynamic Tissue Imaging

Objective: Wearable ultrasound is emerging as a new paradigm of real-time imaging in freely moving humans and has wide applications from cardiovascular health monitoring to human gesture recognition. However, current wearable ultrasound devices have typically employed pulse-echo imaging which requires high excitation voltages and sampling rates, posing safety risks, and requiring specialized hardware. Our objective was to develop and evaluate a wearable ultrasound system based on time delay spectrometry (TDS) that utilizes low-voltage excitation and significantly simplified instrumentation. Methods: We developed a TDS-based ultrasound system that utilizes continuous, frequency-modulated sweeps at low excitation voltages. By mixing the transmit and receive signals, the system digitizes the ultrasound signal at audio frequency (kHz) sampling rates. Wearable ultrasound transducers were developed, and the system was characterized in terms of imaging performance, acoustic output, thermal characteristics, and applications in musculoskeletal imaging. Results: The prototype TDS system is capable of imaging up to 6 cm of depth with signal-to-noise ratio of up to 42 dB at a spatial resolution of 0.33 mm. Acoustic and thermal radiation measurements were within clinically safe limits for continuous ultrasound imaging. We demonstrated the ability to use a 4-channel wearable system for dynamic imaging of muscle activity. Conclusion: We developed a wearable ultrasound imaging system using TDS to mitigate challenges with pulse echo-based wearable ultrasound imaging systems. Our device is capable of high-resolution, dynamic imaging of deep-seated tissue structures and is safe for long-term use. Significance: This work paves the way for low-voltage wearable ultrasound imaging devices with significantly reduced hardware complexity.