A revolutionary wearable ultrasound patch, dubbed the 'UPatch', could provide continuous monitoring for unborn babies in high-risk pregnancies, potentially saving lives by detecting complications early. Developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego and tested in both the UK and US, the small device can be worn on the pregnant belly to track foetal signals for hours at a time, even as the foetus and umbilical cord move.
Published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study highlights the patch's ability to spot early warning signs of deadly complications such as pre-eclampsia. Unlike conventional intermittent ultrasound scans performed in hospital, the UPatch offers real-time, continuous data, allowing doctors to identify abnormalities that might otherwise be missed between appointments.
During clinical testing, the patch detected prolonged abnormal foetal signals in one case, prompting an early Caesarean delivery that likely saved the baby's life. Lead author Tom Park, a PhD student, noted that measurements from the wearable patch closely matched those from traditional ultrasound devices, validating its accuracy.
Senior author Professor Sheng Xu of Stanford University explained that current diagnostic tools 'can only capture a snapshot of what’s going on with the baby', whereas the UPatch ensures doctors 'don't miss any data'. This enables them to analyse baseline signals and patterns for each patient. Antoniya Georgieva, a senior author from the University of Oxford, said the potential to prevent stillbirth is 'huge', adding that continuous data could help researchers understand why some babies survive in the womb and others do not.
The researchers believe the technology could expand access to prenatal care in low-resource settings, where skilled ultrasound technicians and long-term monitoring are often limited. While further development is needed, the UPatch represents a significant step forward in managing high-risk pregnancies.
