Synchronous wearable ultrasound for early detection of coronary and carotid artery comorbidity

Clinical Snapshot

Key Findings

• P Value: Not reported in abstract

• Effect Size: Not reported in abstract; described qualitatively as demonstrating 'feasibility of differentiating' groups based on metric correlations between modelling and measurements

• Primary Outcome: Feasibility of differentiating healthy participants from patients with CAD, CHD, or CAD-CHD comorbidity using synchronous wearable ultrasound-derived cardiac-carotid metrics

• Nnt Or Sensitivity: Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios not reported; no 2×2 table data available from abstract. Diagnostic accuracy metrics are absent — a critical limitation for evidence-based clinical evaluation

• Confidence Interval: Not reported

Clinical Application

The wearable form factor offers theoretical advantages for ambulatory, point-of-care, and community screening settings. However, practical feasibility barriers include: acoustic window reliability across body habitus variations, image quality in non-supine positions, battery and data transmission requirements, need for trained interpretation, regulatory approval, and cost. None of these are addressed in the abstract. In Australia, carotid duplex ultrasound and echocardiography are Medicare-rebatable investigations (MBS items 55054, 55057 for carotid; 55113–55130 series for echocardiography) performed by accredited sonographers and reported by cardiologists or vascular physicians. Wearable ultrasound devices are not currently TGA-approved for diagnostic cardiac or vascular imaging in Australia. RACGP and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) guidelines for cardiovascular risk assessment do not currently include wearable ultrasound. For this technology to enter Australian clinical practice, TGA Class IIb or III medical device registration would be required, along with prospective validation studies in Australian populations, MBS listing consideration, and integration into existing cardiovascular risk stratification pathways (e.g., Australian Cardiovascular Disease Risk Calculator). The PBS is not directly relevant at this stage as this is a diagnostic device, not a pharmaceutical. Workforce implications for cardiac sonography would also require consideration. Conceptually applicable to middle-aged adults at risk of or with established coronary artery disease and/or carotid artery disease, particularly those who may benefit from simultaneous non-invasive cardiovascular screening. However, the current evidence base is insufficient to define a specific applicable clinical population with confidence.

Abstract

Coronary heart disease (CHD) and carotid artery disease (CAD) often co-occur. However, conventional diagnosis typically involves separate, site-by-site examinations after symptoms appear, leading to delayed intervention. In this work, we developed a wearable ultrasound system that enables synchronous monitoring of cardiac and carotid dynamics for comorbidity assessment. The system combines dual wearable ultrasound patches, a synchronous imaging strategy, artificial intelligence-based image processing algorithms, and human circuitry models to automatically extract and analyze key cardiac-carotid metrics, such as heart rate, pulse rate, cardiac volume, cardiac output, and carotid blood pressure. By evaluating the correlation of these metrics between modeling and measurements, we showed the feasibility of differentiating among healthy participants and patients with CAD, CHD, or CAD-CHD comorbidity. This integrated approach constitutes a promising framework for supporting the proactive assessment of coronary-carotid comorbidity.

References

1. 1.Lin, S., Xu, H., Li, Y., Ge, X., Chen, K., Chen, L., Tong, M., Wang, F., Wu, D., Lin, H., Dai, W., Zhang, Y., Xing, Y., Wen, J., & Kong, D. (2026). Synchronous wearable ultrasound for early detection of coronary and carotid artery comorbidity. Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed2114