A team of researchers, led by the University of California San Diego (La Jolla, CA, USA; www.ucsd.edu), has developed an ultrasound patch that non-invasively monitors blood pressure in arteries deep beneath the skin to detect cardiovascular problems much earlier and with more precision. 

The soft, stretchy ultrasound patch can be worn on the skin for obtaining precise readings of central blood pressure each time, even when the user is on the go, and can also get a good reading  through fatty tissue. 

In trials, the researchers found the patch recordings  to be comparable to those collected using a traditional ultrasound probe.Some of its applications include real-time,continuous monitoring of  blood pressure changes in patients diagnosed with heart or lung disease,as well as those who are seriously ill or undergoing surgery.

 lmage: Wearable ultrasound patch tracks blood pressure in a deep artery or vein (Photo courtesy of Chonghe Wang/Nature Biomedical Engineering)