TinyProbe v0.1.0

A Wearable 32-Channel Multi-Modal Wireless Ultrasound Probe

Introduction

This repository contains ongoing work on TinyProbe, an advanced wearable ultrasound platform developed at the Integrated Systems Laboratory (IIS) of ETH Zurich.

The system design is described in detail in our publications in the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (TUFFC) and in the Proceedings of the IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS 2025).

Specifications

TinyProbe is a compact research platform for low-power ultrasound sensing, featuring the following specifications:

Transmit

• 64 V peak-to-peak bipolar excitations
• 32 pattern profiles (fully programmable)
• 16 delay profiles (fully programmable)

Receive

• 21, 18, or 15 dB low-noise amplifier (programmable)
• 21, 24, or 27 dB programmable gain amplifier (PGA)
• Up to 36 dB TGC (fully programmable)
• 32 channels (simultaneously sampled at up to 30 MSps, 10 bit)

Connectivity

• Wireless link I (Wi-Fi 4, 21.6 Mbps)
• or Wireless link II (Wi-Fi 6, 35.7 Mbps)

Operating Modes

1. A-mode, B-mode, M-mode with 32 channels (33 FPS with Wi-Fi 4, 55 FPS with Wi-Fi 6)
2. Doppler mode with 2 channels (1400 FPS)
3. Raw RF data streaming (55 FPS, 32 channels, 2000 samples per channel, 10 bit per sample)

Power Consumption

With Wi-Fi 4 shield:

• 970 mW for operating modes 1 and 3, 1400 mW for operating mode 2
• 100 mW in power-save mode

TinyProbe System Diagram

YouTube Overview

Repository Structure

This repository has the following folders:

• wifi_6_board: source files for the Wi-Fi 6 board, namely:
  • firmware for the SiWG917 MCU, located in fw/
  • CAD design files for the Wi-Fi 6 PCB shield, located in hw/
• acquisition_board: source files for the acquisition board (Work in Progress)
• hv_tx_board: source files for the high-voltage PCB (Work in Progress)
• host_pc: Python code for the TinyProbe Python interface
• docs: project documentation (Work in Progress)

Documentation

Additional documentation (e.g., how to reproduce results, how to use the probe) will be added in later releases.

Citation

If you would like to reference the TinyProbe project, please cite:

@article{vostrikov2024tinyprobe,
  title={TinyProbe: A wearable 32-channel multi-modal wireless ultrasound probe},
  author={Vostrikov, Sergei and Tille, Josquin and Benini, Luca and Cossettini, Andrea},
  journal={IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control},
  year={2024},
  publisher={IEEE}
}

If you would like to reference only the Wi-Fi 6 PCB design, please cite:

@inproceedings{hirschi2025high,
  title={High Frame Rate Arterial Monitoring via Wi-Fi 6 on a 32-channel Wearable Ultrasound Probe},
  author={Hirschi, Cédric and Vostrikov, Sergei and Cossettini, Andrea and Benini, Luca},
  booktitle={2025 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS)},
  pages={1--4},
  year={2025},
  organization={IEEE}
}

Authors

The TinyProbe system was developed at the Integrated Systems Laboratory (IIS) at ETH Zurich by:

• Sergei Vostrikov (Full-stack TinyProbe design)
• Cédric Hirschi (Full-stack Wi-Fi 6 shield design)
• Andrea Cossettini (Supervision, project administration)
• Luca Benini (Supervision, project administration)

License

This repository makes use of the following licenses:

• for all hardware (*hw/ folders): Solderpad Hardware License Version 0.51
• for all software(*host_pc/, *.py): Apache License Version 2.0
• for all images (*docs/images folders): Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

For further information, please refer to the license files: LICENSE.hw, LICENSE.sw, LICENSE.images.

The wifi_6_board/fw/ directory contains third-party sources that come with their own licenses. See the respective folders and source files for the licenses used.

Limitation of Liability

In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise, unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall any Contributor be liable to You for damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the Work (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other commercial damages or losses), even if such Contributor has been advised of the possibility of such damages.