Wearable Ultrasound: Are We Ready to Take This Chance for Vascular Ageing Assessment?

Background Wearable ultrasound (US) is an emerging innovative approach with a possibly huge impact on personalized medicine. Recent advancements in transducer material and architecture provide new opportunities in many medical areas. Within this context, assessment of vascular aging can play a crucial role especially related to the early detection of vascular alterations, i.e., before disease-related symptoms occur, reshaping the concept of cardiovascular prevention. Aim Within this work, we aim to stimulate a multidisciplinary discussion about the possible use of wearable ultrasound in the vascular aging field. Methods An overview on wearable ultrasound and its potential in the vascular aging field are provided with a view on data processing workflow, preclinical applications, clinical impact, and industrial challenges. Results and conclusions The concept of wearability opens interesting scenarios for a more effective adoption of the ultrasound technology that is currently underutilized. However, there are still several open issues, both in terms of safety and performance that need to be addressed to translate the innovation into clinical practice. The combination of innovative wearable devices with the holistic and versatile approach typical for US imaging has the potential to revolutionize the vascular field and a multidisciplinary discussion about this challenge can support its advancement.