Imaging from the implantable side: Ultrasonic-powered EIT system for surgical site infection detection

Ultrasounds (US) are a proven medical tool to assess a myriad of biological processes, including breast cancer screening, fetal development and blood flow. However, US also have the potential to deliver power and telemetry capability to deeply implanted devices, surpassing some challenges faced by coils or antennas operating inside the human body. In this study we present an implantable device powered by US that can perform in situ tissue impedance imaging. The objective is to provide a tool to evaluate soft tissue healing after surgery, by searching for areas of bacterial infection as the normal conductivity of tissue will be impaired, undetectable by standard imaging methods. The motivation is to reduce not only the morbidity rate associated with wound infections (1/3 of the postoperative deaths) but also to shorten patient's recovery time in hospital, with 5% risk of developing a new infection.