WRIST BOUND ULTRASOUND-ON-A-CHIP DEVICE
Aspects of the technology described herein relate to an apparatus including an ultrasound-on-a-chip device configured to be bound to a user's wrist. The ultrasound-on-a-chip device may include a two-dimensional array of ultrasonic transducers. The transducers may be capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) and may be configured to emit ultrasound waves having a frequency between approximately 5-20 MHz. A coupling strip may be coupled to the ultrasound-on-a-chip device to reduce the air gap between the ultrasound-on-a-chip device and the user's wrist. The ultrasound-on-a-chip device may be waterproof and may be able to perform both transverse and longitudinal ultrasound scanning without being rotated. The ultrasound-on-a-chip device may be configured to calculate pulse wave velocity through a blood vessel in a user's wrist.
1 . An apparatus comprising an ultrasound-on-a-chip device configured to be bound to a user's wrist.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device is waterproof.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device is configured to perform both transverse and longitudinal ultrasound scanning of a blood vessel in the user's wrist without being rotated relative to the user's wrist.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device comprises a two-dimensional array of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs).
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device comprises a plurality of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) configured to emit ultrasound waves having a frequency between approximately 5-20 MHz.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one wristband;
an ultrasound module containing the ultrasound-on-a-chip device and coupled to the at least one wristband; and
a coupling strip coupled to the ultrasound module and configured to couple the ultrasound module to the user's wrist.
7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a primary module coupled to the at least one wristband.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the primary module comprises a display screen configured to display at least one of ultrasound data collected by the ultrasound-on-a-chip device, an ultrasound image generated from the ultrasound data, and data generated from the ultrasound data.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one wristband configured to couple to a wristband of a wrist device;
an ultrasound module containing the ultrasound-on-a-chip device and coupled to the at least one wristband; and
a coupling strip coupled to the ultrasound module and configured to couple the ultrasound module to the user's wrist.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising a connection cable extending externally from the at least one wristband and configured to electrically connect the ultrasound module to the primary module.
11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one wristband;
a primary module containing the ultrasound-on-a-chip device and coupled to the at least one wristband; and
a coupling strip coupled to the primary module and configured to couple the primary module to the user's wrist.
12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a reservoir containing liquid or gel and configured to refresh the coupling strip.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the reservoir comprises a valve opening from the reservoir into the coupling strip and configured to enable flow of the liquid or gel from the reservoir to the coupling strip.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the valve is configured to enable flow of the liquid or gel from the reservoir to the coupling strip in response to mechanical pressure applied to a portion of the apparatus.
15 . The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising:
processing circuitry configured to automatically trigger the valve to enable flow of the liquid or gel from the reservoir to the coupling strip.
16 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the reservoir further comprises an input port configured to enable refilling of the reservoir with the liquid or gel.
17 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising processing circuitry configured to generate a notification to reposition the ultrasound-on-a-chip device.
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , further comprising processing circuitry configured to generate a notification to replace the coupling strip or refresh the coupling strip with liquid or gel.
19 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device is configured to transmit ultrasound data collected by the ultrasound-on-a-chip device to processing circuitry that is configured to analyze the ultrasound data using deep learning models.
20 . The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to retrieve, from a server, ultrasound data collected by other ultrasound-on-a-chip devices and to use the ultrasound data collected by the other ultrasound-on-a-chip devices when training the deep learning models.
21 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device is configured to transmit ultrasound data of a blood vessel to processing circuitry that is configured to calculate pulse wave velocity in the blood vessel based on the ultrasound data of the blood vessel.
22 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises:
a button; and
processing circuitry configured to trigger collection of ultrasound data by the ultrasound-on-a-chip device upon activation of the button.
23 . An apparatus, comprising:
a wristband; and
an ultrasound-on-a-chip device coupled to the wristband.
24 . The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the wristband comprises an interior surface and an exterior surface, and wherein the ultrasound-on-a-chip device is positioned on the interior surface of the wristband.
25 .- 39 . (canceled)