Team: Wearable cardiac ultrasound image

School Affiliation: University of California, San Diego

Description:

We are developing a wearable ultrasonic imager for continuous, real-time and direct visualization of cardiac function assessment.

Problem:

Normal cardiac function is essential for the maintenance of systemic tissue perfusion throughout the body. Cardiovascular diseases impose a huge burden in terms of mortality, morbidity, disability, and healthcare costs, especially in the elderly. Cardiac function is dynamic, so continuous monitoring over an extended period is preferable to a single snapshot in time at the doctor’s office for the assessment of long-term cardiovascular health, the clinical management of critically ill or perioperative patients, and the early detection of acute cardiac dysfunctions for inpatients and outpatients.

Solution:

Cardiac monitoring primarily targets heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels. Although these are useful parameters, they do not match the wealth of diagnostic value of direct imaging. Our approach is innovative because it will provide quantitative imaging with more abundant information than conventional measurements of curves and data points. A cardiac imager can reveal clinically important characteristics, such as cardiac chamber volume, myocardium structures, and ventricular ejection function, which are important for a wide range of general examinations.

Market:

The primary target market for the wearable ultrasound cardiac imager is the patients in intensive care units who require continuous hemodynamic and cardiac monitoring. This includes critically ill individuals with sepsis, acute heart failure, post-cardiac surgery recovery, and other cardiovascular complications.

The total addressable market for the wearable cardiac ultrasound imager in ICU settings is substantial, given the high demand for continuous hemodynamic monitoring. Globally, an estimated 10–15 million patients are admitted to ICUs each year, with approximately 5 million in the U.S. and 3 million in Europe. Among ICU patients, 40–60% require cardiac monitoring, creating a direct market of 4–7.5 million patients annually. The broader critical care monitoring market, which includes devices such as pulmonary artery catheters and echocardiography systems, is projected to reach $5–7 billion by 2030. A wearable ultrasound imager that enables continuous, noninvasive cardiac assessment could capture 10–20% of this market, translating to a serviceable opportunity of $500 million to $1.5 billion. Expanding applications into perioperative care, emergency medicine, and outpatient monitoring could further increase the market potential.

Competition:

The wearable cardiac ultrasound imager is highly differentiated from existing competitors by offering continuous, noninvasive, and operator-independent cardiac monitoring, which is not achievable with current solutions. Traditional echocardiography, including transthoracic and transesophageal ultrasound, requires skilled operators, is intermittent, and lacks real-time continuous monitoring. Pulmonary artery catheters, while providing direct hemodynamic measurements, are invasive, carry procedural risks, and require ICU placement. Emerging wearable cardiac monitoring devices, such as electrocardiography-based patches and hemodynamic sensors, only offer indirect cardiac function assessment without imaging capability. Unlike these alternatives, the proposed wearable ultrasound imager provides direct visualization of cardiac structures and function in real time, allowing for immediate therapeutic adjustments and early detection of transient cardiac events, making it a transformational advancement in ICU and perioperative monitoring.

Value Creation:

The wearable cardiac ultrasound imager creates substantial clinical, economic, and societal value by enabling continuous, real-time cardiac monitoring in ICU settings, reducing reliance on intermittent imaging and invasive procedures. Its noninvasive, operator-independent design lowers healthcare costs by minimizing the need for skilled personnel, reducing ICU length of stay, and preventing complications from delayed cardiac assessments. From a revenue and profitability perspective, the device taps into the $5–7 billion ICU monitoring market, with potential expansion into perioperative care, emergency medicine, and outpatient cardiac monitoring, creating a scalable business model through direct hospital sales, subscription-based software analytics, and reimbursement-driven adoption. Social and environmental impact is also significant—early detection of hemodynamic instability improves patient outcomes and reduces mortality, while eliminating the need for disposable catheter-based monitors reduces medical waste, aligning with sustainable healthcare initiatives.

The Team:

Tom Park, PhD, 2026
Hao Huang, PhD, 2027

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