Biodegradable ultrasound contrast tape for tracing intestinal motility

作者：Ye Tian, Yueying Yang, Jiaxin Wang, Na Li, Zhangqi Pan, Yuli Li, Mengyuan Zhou, Yizhou Huang, Xiaofeng Zhang, Yang Yu, Haotian Lei, Jie Chen, Wei Wang, Ye Yuan, Xiaohuan Lu, Zuliang Du, Xurui Liu, Lejie Qin, Xin‐Wu Cui, Hanchuan Tang, Jianfeng Zang · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-025-63310-8 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Surgical Simulation and Training、Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research、Ultrasound and Hyperthermia Applications

Postoperative complications such as intestinal motility disorders and obstructions require regular monitoring following small intestine resection. While imaging techniques like MRI and CT offer high-resolution visualization of internal organs, their use is limited by the need for trained operators and constraints on frequent monitoring. Ultrasonography, although capable of continuous imaging of deep tissues, is challenged by the weak acoustic reflections from soft intestinal tissue. In this work, we present a biodegradable ultrasound contrast tape (BioUCT) designed for robust, conformal adhesion to the intestinal surface to enable high-contrast ultrasound imaging. The soft BioUCT has a strong ultrasound reflection (>90%), generated from periodic air cells sealed in tough hydrogels. The BioUCT achieved ultrasound contrast imaging of the small intestine for 2 weeks and degraded naturally within 12 weeks in a live pig, enabling the regular and wireless monitoring of postoperative intestinal motility. Intestinal motility disorders that can occur following small intestine resection often require regular monitoring. This study reports a biodegradable ultrasound contrast tape (BioUCT) that adheres to the intestine for high-contrast imaging for up to two weeks for non-invasive monitoring of postoperative intestinal motility.