Wearable Ultrasound Technology in Health Monitoring and Therapy: Technological Innovations, Differentiated Applications, and Future Directions

Ultrasound technology plays a pivotal role in health monitoring and management by virtue of its noninvasiveness, real-time imaging capability, and deep tissue penetration. As the frontier in ultrasound imaging and therapeutic applications, wearable ultrasound overcomes the limitations of conventional ultrasound devices, which are bulky and require operation by a professional. These advantages broaden its potential for use in mobile health monitoring and personalized therapy. This Perspective systematically summarizes the latest developments in wearable ultrasound devices, with a particular focus on technological innovations in different ultrasound transducer materials and other designs related to miniaturization and flexibility. We provide a comprehensive overview of their diverse roles in both diagnosis and therapy, including multimodal tissue imaging, targeted drug delivery, wound healing, and neuromodulation. Furthermore, the synergistic benefits of ultrasound-based communication and energy supply are explored, which improve physiological monitoring and therapeutic efficacy. We identify the key technical challenges and potential solutions to them through an in-depth comparison of the working mechanism and performance of ultrasound technology in different applications. Finally, we offer a perspective on future directions of research on wearable ultrasound technology along the dimensions of safety, clinical reliability, portability, multifunctionality, and efficiency.