Project: ThrombUS - Diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and its potentially fatal complication, pulmonary embolism, pose a significant health risk worldwide and are responsible for a considerable proportion of acute hospitalisations. DVT, characterised by the formation of blood clots in the deep veins, predominantly in the lower limbs, interferes with normal blood flow. In about half of patients with DVT, the blood clot detaches from the vein wall and travels to the lungs, where it can cause a pulmonary embolism. Around 25% of people who suffer a pulmonary embolism die as a result, making pulmonary embolism the third most common cause of cardiovascular death worldwide after stroke and heart attack.

The clinical diagnosis of DVT is notoriously unreliable, as up to two thirds of DVT episodes are clinically asymptomatic and patients show no symptoms even if a pulmonary embolism has developed.

Early diagnosis of DVT is crucial and has been shown to prevent life-threatening complications, particularly pulmonary embolism. It also helps to minimise the risk of long-term complications such as post-thrombotic syndrome and recurrent DVT, improve treatment outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. ThrombUS+ brings together an interdisciplinary team of industry, technology, social science and clinical trial experts to develop an innovative wearable device that enables continuous, user-independent monitoring of patients at increased risk of thrombosis.

In collaboration with VERMON, Fraunhofer IPMS is developing the ultrasound transducer array for portable, continuous monitoring of deep vein thrombosis directly on site. Our focus is on CMUTs (Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers), membrane-based ultrasonic transducers that are considered the next generation of medical ultrasonic sensors. The cost-efficient mass production of CMUTs enables broad availability. The advantages such as miniaturisation with a high number of channels, high bandwidth and sensitivity open up the possibility of developing a completely new monitoring system.