Current Trends in Ultrasound Wearables: Spotlight on System Architecture

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Wearable ultrasound sensing systems are rapidly emerging for precise, continuous, and intuitive biomedical monitoring and human-in-the-loop interaction in healthcare, industry, and rehabilitation. These systems must operate under stringent constraints on size, weight, and power while delivering actionable physiological and functional information. Advances in micromachined transducers, conformable electronics, low-power signal processing, and edge artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled the first generation of wearable prototypes, yet integration of hardware and software at the system-level remains a major barrier to mass deployment. This review maps the technology readiness and architectures of wearable ultrasound systems, and examines critical design trade-offs, including edge versus cloud-based processing and pulse-echo versus coded signal approaches. We identify recurring design principles and argue that modular, scalable, and reusable platforms are key to lowering development barriers and accelerating translation from prototypes to commercial deployment across healthcare, industrial, and consumer domains.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalIEEE reviews in biomedical engineering : R-BME
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 1 Mar 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-3295-0727/work/208071872
ORCID /0000-0002-2421-6127/work/208075362
ORCID /0000-0002-0676-6926/work/208075444
unpaywall 10.1109/rbme.2026.3664011
Mendeley 3e057832-1fd0-38a4-8349-68934669d520
Scopus 105032127823

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • wireless systems, edge computing, Wearable ultrasound, system design, coded signals, wearable health monitoring, human-machine interfaces