Flexible Ultrasonic Transducers for Wearable Biomedical Applications: A Review on Advanced Materials, Structural Designs, and Future Prospects

作者：Xiangming Xue, Huaiyu Wu, Qianqian Cai, Mengyue Chen, Sunho Moon, Ziping Huang, Taeyang Kim, Chang Peng, Wuwei Feng, Nitin Sharma, Xiaoning Jiang · 发表于：IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1109/tuffc.2023.3333318 · 被引用次数：63 · 研究领域：Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials、Nanomaterials and Printing Technologies、Wireless Power Transfer Systems

Due to the rapid developments in materials science and fabrication techniques, wearable devices have recently received increased attention for biomedical applications, particularly in medical ultrasound (US) imaging, sensing, and therapy. US is ubiquitous in biomedical applications because of its noninvasive nature, nonionic radiating, high precision, and real-time capabilities. While conventional US transducers are rigid and bulky, flexible transducers can be conformed to curved body areas for continuous sensing without restricting tissue movement or transducer shifting. This article comprehensively reviews the application of flexible US transducers in the field of biomedical imaging, sensing, and therapy. First, we review the background of flexible US transducers. Following that, we discuss advanced materials and fabrication techniques for flexible US transducers and their enabling technology status. Finally, we highlight and summarize some promising preliminary data with recent applications of flexible US transducers in biomedical imaging, sensing, and therapy. We also provide technical barriers, challenges, and future perspectives for further research and development.