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  • Review Article
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Wearable ultrasound technology

Nature Reviews Bioengineering volume 3, pages 835–854 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Wearable ultrasound technology refers to ultrasound devices designed with compact form factors that do not restrict the mobility or routine functions of the wearer. These devices are intended to provide continuous monitoring of internal tissue structures and offer therapeutic intervention without manual operation. Wearable ultrasound technology has potential applications in the management of chronic diseases, acute conditions during surgeries and emergencies, and post-operative care. This technology can provide clinicians and patients with data and insights, such as patterns of physiological variations over time and critical periods of disease progression, that are hardly attainable using conventional handheld ultrasound devices. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in wearable ultrasound technology, focusing on material selection, mechanical design, the integration of wearable systems, and exemplary medical applications. Additionally, we provide a framework for expanding the adoption of wearable ultrasound technology, particularly in low-resource settings, by exploring barriers in technology transfer. Finally, we identify critical challenges from scientific, engineering and clinical perspectives to advance wearable ultrasound technology to the next stages of development.

Key points

  • Wearable ultrasound technology enables hands-free, operator-independent and continuous operation.

  • The integration of miniaturized back-end circuits, autonomous signal processing algorithms and multimodal sensing systems is intended to enhance diagnosis accuracy, user experience and patient outcomes.

  • Wearable ultrasound technology has shown potential in a wide range of use cases, although most of the results are yet to be validated against gold standards in well-controlled clinical studies.

  • To enable clinical translation, it is necessary to carry out controlled clinical studies, establish safety protocols for therapeutic intervention, and integrate wearable data with electronic health records.

  • Future advancements should focus on improving imaging resolution, realizing efficient 3D imaging, integrating control electronics with low size, weight and power consumption, creating breathable device packaging.

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Fig. 1: Transducer material design, acoustic stack and configurations for wearable ultrasound devices.
Fig. 2: Rigid, flexible and stretchable wearable ultrasound designs.
Fig. 3: Device integration.
Fig. 4: Applications of wearable ultrasound technology.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for financial support from the National Institutes of Health (1R21EB025521-01, 1R21EB027303-01A1, 3R21EB027303-02S1, 1R01EB033464-01 and 1R01HL171652-01). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Sai Zhou, Geonho Park, Muyang Lin.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sai Zhou, Xinyi Yang & Sheng Xu

  2. Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Geonho Park, Muyang Lin & Sheng Xu

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sheng Xu

  4. Shu Chien–Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sheng Xu

  5. Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sheng Xu

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S.Z., G.P. and M.L. contributed equally to the literature review, figure design and manuscript writing. All authors contributed to writing and editing the manuscript.

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Related links

Ceramic counterparts (Young’s modulus ~50 GPa): https://support.piezo.com/article/62-material-properties

Drexel University: https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2016/november/ultrasound-wound-healing-device

Electromechanical coupling coefficient (0.17–0.58): https://www.ctscorp.com/Product-Series/3203HD.htm

Mobile phone integrated probes: https://www.butterflynetwork.com/teleguidance

PIN–PMN-PT: https://www.trstechnologies.com/Materials/High-Performance-PMN-PT-Piezoelectric-Single-Crystal

Vibration amplitude: https://www.americanpiezo.com/knowledge-center/piezo-theory/piezoelectric-constants/#:~:Text=For%20a%20thin%20disc%20of

ZetrOZ Systems LLC: https://samrecover.com/

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Zhou, S., Park, G., Lin, M. et al. Wearable ultrasound technology. Nat Rev Bioeng 3, 835–854 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00329-y

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