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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Create a Soft Wearable Ultrasound Patch That Watches Unborn Babies in Real Time

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a soft, wearable ultrasound patch that can continuously monitor a fetus for hours at a time. Unlike traditional ultrasound scans, which provide only brief snapshots of fetal health, this new device stays on the mother’s body and tracks the baby in real time—even as both the fetus and umbilical cord move during pregnancy.

This breakthrough could change prenatal care, especially for high-risk pregnancies where constant monitoring can make the difference between early intervention and missed warning signs. In early clinical testing, the device even detected abnormal fetal signals that led doctors to perform an early Cesarean delivery. Researchers believe this timely intervention may have helped save the baby’s life.

The study, published in Nature Biotechnology, also highlights how this technology could expand access to prenatal care in low-resource regions where trained ultrasound technicians and advanced hospital equipment are not always available.

A New Way to Monitor Pregnancy Continuously

Today, most prenatal ultrasounds are done in clinics or hospitals. A trained specialist uses a handheld probe to take images of the fetus. While effective, this method has one major limitation—it only captures a short moment in time.

Pregnancy, however, is continuous. A baby’s heart rate, movement, and blood flow can change throughout the day. Important warning signs may appear between hospital visits and go unnoticed.

The new wearable ultrasound patch solves this problem by providing long-term, continuous monitoring. It sticks gently to the mother’s abdomen and records fetal health data over hours without needing constant manual operation.

“Wearable ultrasound technology has the potential to enable continuous prenatal monitoring and improve pregnancy outcomes in ways that were previously not possible,” said Geonho (Tom) Park, a co-first author of the study and Ph.D. student at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Park worked alongside fellow co-first authors Yizhou Bian, Hao Huang, and Sai Zhou.

How the Wearable Ultrasound Patch Works

The biggest challenge in fetal monitoring is movement. Both the baby and the umbilical cord constantly shift inside the womb. Traditional ultrasound machines require a trained operator to manually adjust the probe to track these changes.

The new patch is designed to work differently. It is flexible, soft, and built to remain stable on the skin while capturing high-quality ultrasound signals continuously.

“To comprehensively monitor mothers and babies over the amount of time needed to catch complications like preeclampsia, you need a system that can work continuously and largely on its own,” said co-author Yizhou Bian. “That is why the sensing depth, functional capabilities and autonomy of this ultrasound technology are critical.”

To handle constant movement, the research team developed autonomous tracking algorithms. These smart systems automatically identify the umbilical cord and follow it in real time, ensuring accurate measurements even when the fetus changes position.

This is a key improvement over traditional ultrasound systems, which can lose track of important structures when movement occurs.

“With continuous monitoring, we were able to observe dynamic fluctuations in blood flow that would likely be missed with conventional ultrasound exams,” said co-author Hao Huang.

Real Clinical Results and Life-Saving Potential

One of the most important findings came during clinical testing. Researchers reported that the patch detected abnormal fetal signals in one pregnancy. Doctors were alerted, and the pregnancy was later delivered at 29 weeks through an early Cesarean section.

According to researchers, this early detection may have helped prevent a more serious outcome and potentially saved the baby’s life.

This example shows the real-world impact of continuous monitoring. Instead of waiting for scheduled checkups, doctors can receive ongoing updates and respond quickly when something goes wrong.

Even small changes in fetal heart rate or blood flow can signal serious conditions such as oxygen deprivation or placental issues. Detecting these changes early is critical in high-risk pregnancies.

Extensive Clinical Testing Across Multiple Hospitals

The research team tested the device in a multi-center clinical study involving two major institutions: UC San Diego Health at Jacobs Medical Center and the University of Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

Across the study, the wearable patch provided measurements that closely matched those from standard handheld ultrasound devices. This confirms that the new system is not only more continuous but also highly accurate.

Researchers collected continuous monitoring data for hours in 62 pregnancies. These included both healthy pregnancies and high-risk cases involving conditions such as:

  • Gestational diabetes

  • Preeclampsia

  • High blood pressure

  • Abnormal fetal growth

This wide range of data helped researchers confirm that the device works effectively across different pregnancy conditions.

A Decade of Innovation Behind the Technology

This innovation did not happen overnight. It builds on more than ten years of research led by professor Sheng Xu at the University of California San Diego.

His team has developed several wearable ultrasound technologies over the years, including systems for:

  • Non-invasive monitoring of central blood pressure

  • Mobile heart monitoring

  • Controlling robotic devices through everyday gestures

All of this work was conducted at the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering within the Jacobs School of Engineering.

The new fetal monitoring patch is one of the most advanced applications yet, combining soft materials, biomedical sensing, and artificial intelligence tracking systems.

Future Improvements and Wireless Development

The research team is now working on making the device even more advanced. Their next goal is to integrate the patch into a compact electronic system that can operate wirelessly.

A fully wireless version would allow mothers greater freedom of movement while still receiving continuous monitoring. It could also make it easier to use in home settings rather than only in hospitals.

Such improvements could significantly increase accessibility, especially in regions where healthcare infrastructure is limited.

In the future, wearable ultrasound patches may become as common as wearable heart monitors are today.

Broader Impact on Global Healthcare

One of the most exciting aspects of this technology is its potential use in low-resource settings. Many regions around the world lack access to skilled ultrasound technicians or regular prenatal checkups.

A simple, wearable device that continuously monitors fetal health could bridge this gap. It could help identify complications earlier, reduce infant mortality, and improve maternal health outcomes.

Instead of relying on occasional hospital visits, expectant mothers could be monitored safely and continuously at home or in community clinics.

Looking Ahead

On November 1, 2025, lead researcher Sheng Xu moved his primary academic affiliation to Stanford University, where he continues his work in biomedical engineering and wearable health technologies.

The research team believes this is just the beginning. As the technology improves, wearable ultrasound systems could become a standard part of prenatal care worldwide.

If successfully scaled, this innovation could represent a major shift in how pregnancies are monitored—from short clinic-based snapshots to continuous, real-time health tracking.

And in medicine, that shift from “occasional checkups” to “constant awareness” could make all the difference for mothers and babies everywhere.

Reference: Park, G., Bian, Y., Huang, H. et al. Fetal monitoring for high-risk pregnancies using a wearable ultrasound patch. Nat Biotechnol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-026-03140-1

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