Wireless Ultrasound: A Potential Revolution In Assessing On-Field Sports Injuries?

Key Takeaways

• Portable wireless ultrasound devices could transform the way sports injuries are handled on the field

• The devices can provide fast, reliable assessment of muscle strains and sprains

• Researchers found the images from wireless ultrasound were as useful as those from large, expensive hospital scanners

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The collegiate sports season is upon us, and with it the inevitable bruises, sprains and strains that come from tough competition.

Portable wireless ultrasound devices could be key to getting fast, reliable assessment of on-the-field sports injuries, researchers say.

These wireless devices deliver results faster and at lower cost, while making it easier to examine an injury on the sidelines or in a dugout, researchers report in the Journal of Sports Rehabilitation.

“This study helps lay the groundwork for using wireless ultrasound more widely in sports medicine,” lead researcher Jessica Tolzman, a doctoral student in kinesiology at Michigan State University, said in a news release.

Ultrasound imaging is often used to assess muscle and tendon characteristics involved in sports injuries, researchers said in background notes.

For example, the quadriceps are critical for knee stability. Using ultrasound to assess their size and quality tracks a player’s recovery from injury, researchers said.

Standard ultrasounds use panoramic, real-time imaging to capture entire muscle groups, researchers said. This involves large and expensive machines typically found in hospitals or labs.

By comparison, small wireless ultrasound devices are more affordable and easier to use, but also more limited. They can only capture a single image at a time.

Researchers decided to see whether these single images produced by wireless ultrasound could nevertheless provide meaningful muscle measurements.

“We wanted to see if a more accessible, portable device could deliver the same quality of information as the larger machines we typically use in clinics and labs,” said senior researcher Matthew Harkey, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Michigan State University.

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“If it holds up, that opens the door to faster, more flexible ways of assessing muscle health in real-world settings,” he said in a news release.

For the study, researchers twice scanned the quadriceps of 29 female athletes participating in college soccer, volleyball and field hockey – once with a standard ultrasound machine and again with a handheld wireless device.

The smaller wireless devices produced results that closely matched those of traditional hospital scanners, even though they didn’t provide full panoramic views, researchers found.

This means that the devices might be a reliable tool for coaches, trainers and team doctors, allowing for real-time monitoring of athletes without disrupting their schedules, researchers said.

However, they said more research is needed to evaluate whether wireless ultrasound is as good at evaluating other muscle groups in different types of athletes.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how it can support injury recovery and performance monitoring in the future,” Tolzman said.

More information

Franciscan Health has more on ultrasound in sports medicine.

SOURCE: Michigan State University, news release, Sept. 4, 2025

What This Means For You

Wireless ultrasound devices might help coaches and team doctors better assess injuries on the field.