Using a Drone as an Autonomous Ultrasound Scanner
Abstract
Quad copters and wireless ultrasound probes are two new pieces of technology that have a huge amount of locked potential due to the fact that they have been mainly controlled by humans, until now. The aim of this project is to mobilize the once bulky and stationary ultrasound machine by attaching a wireless ultrasound probe to a drone that autonomously flies and scans a marked target. The probe is attached to the bottom of the drone during flight, which navigates to a printed marker to conduct a scan on an ultrasound phantom. In this project, I successfully conducted an ultrasound scan while piloting the drone with a remote control and took the first steps towards programming the drone to conduct ultrasound scans completely autonomously. This work is crucial towards combining quad copters and ultrasound probes, expanding the possible uses of ultrasound scans to reach patients in emergency situations where personnel may not be able to immediately enter the area.