A flexible optoacoustic blood stethoscope for non-invasive multiparametric cardiovascular monitoring

Abstract

\n Quantitative and multiparametric blood analysis is of great clinical importance in cardiovascular disease diagnosis. Current blood analysis methods are typically restricted to invasiveness, bulky instruments and complicated clinical procedures. Wearable devices can realize on-skin assessment of several vital signals but generally exhibit very limited blood analyzing functions. Here, we report a flexible optoacoustic blood stethoscope (OBS) for multiparametric cardiovascular monitoring, bypassing the need for invasive procedures. The device features the light delivery elements for blood illumination and the piezoelectric acoustic elements capable of capturing the light-induced acoustic waves. This flexible device can adhere to the skin for continuous and non-invasive in-situ monitoring of multiple cardiovascular biomarkers, including hypoxia, drug concentration decay, and hemodynamics, which can be further visualized with the tailored 3D algorithm. Demonstrations on both in-vivo animal trials and human subjects highlight the OBS s unique potential to provide a new avenue for cardiovascular disease diagnosis and prediction.