Wearable patch offers 24/7 monitoring for high-risk pregnancies
By Stephen Beech
A new wearable "baby bump" monitor can provide round-the-clock care in high-risk pregnancies.
The soft, ultrasound patch continuously monitors the unborn baby for hours at a time, say scientists.
And it does so consistently - even as the fetus and umbilical cord constantly move during pregnancy, according to a study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
The device, which can spot early warning signs of potentially deadly pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, was made by engineers at the University of California San Diego.
They say the technology could help doctors detect complications earlier in high-risk pregnancies.
In one case during clinical testing, the patch detected prolonged abnormal fetal signals that prompted medical intervention through an early cesarean delivery, which researchers say may have helped save the baby's life.
This project builds on over a decade of research at UC San Diego in the lab of chemical and nano engineering professor Sheng Xu.
His team has led development of wearable ultrasound technology for a range of healthcare applications, including non-invasive monitoring of central blood pressure as well as mobile heart monitoring and efforts to use everyday gestures to reliably control robotic devices.
For the latest work, researchers evaluated the wearable ultrasound patch through a multi-center clinical study conducted at Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health and the John Radcliffe Hospital at the University of Oxford.
In tests, the patch produced measurements that closely matched those from standard handheld ultrasound devices.
The research team also collected continuous monitoring data for hours at a time across 62 pregnancies, including healthy pregnancies as well as pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, high blood pressure and abnormal fetal growth.
The research team now plans to integrate the patch into a compact electronic system that could eventually allow it to operate wirelessly.
The post Wearable patch offers 24/7 monitoring for high-risk pregnancies appeared first on Talker.
Talker News
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 11:53 AM.