spectrum.ieee.org
The article discusses the evolution of ultrasound technology, emphasizing the miniaturization and affordability of handheld ultrasound devices enabled by silicon ultrasound technology and AI, potentially revolutionizing medical diagnostics and expanding their applications beyond specialized clinical settings.
Main Points
Silicon ultrasound technology enables miniaturization.
The approach called Silicon Ultrasound, a type of microelectromechanical system (MEMS), enables the miniaturization of ultrasound devices.
AI broadens the usability of handheld ultrasound devices.
AI and machine learning technologies have made these devices accessible for use by non-specialists, broadening their potential applications.
MEMS technology significantly impacts ultrasound efficiency and capabilities.
The development and integration of MEMS technology have profoundly impacted the efficiency and capabilities of ultrasound devices.
Insights
Handheld ultrasound devices are now sufficiently miniaturized and affordable.
The first such miniaturized, handheld ultrasound probe arrived on the market in 2018, from Butterfly Network in Burlington, Mass. Last September, Exo Imaging in Santa Clara, Calif., launched a competing version.
MEMS technology revolutionizes ultrasound by integrating dense transducer arrays on a silicon chip.
Making this possible is silicon ultrasound technology, built using a type of microelectromechanical system that crams 4,000 to 9,000 transducers onto a 2-by-3-centimeter silicon chip.
Advanced AI algorithms make it possible for untrained professionals to use handheld ultrasound devices effectively.
The AI developed for these probes is so good that it may be possible for professionals untrained in ultrasound, such as nurse midwives, to use the portable probes to determine the gestational age of a fetus, with accuracy similar to that of a trained sonographer, according to a 2022 study in NEJM Evidence.
Links
- Butterfly Network
- Exo Imaging
- array of industries
- demonstrated the first versions
- 1996
- experiments in the early 2000s
- gesture detection and proximity sensors
- ST Microelectronics
- a 2022 study in NEJM Evidence
- Philips Engineering Solutions
- Vermon
- Forest Neurotech
- Wearable Ultrasound Sees Deep Tissue on the Move
- MEMS ultrasonic transducers for safe, low-power and portable eye ...
- MEMS Ultrasound Transducers for Endoscopic Photoacoustic ...