Table of contents

This issue of Physiological Measurement follows ICEBI'04: 12th International Conference on Electrical Bio-Impedance joint with EIT: 5th Electrical Impedance Tomography Conference which took place in Gdansk, Poland on 20–24 June 2004. The conference provided an opportunity for researchers from all over the world to present their latest findings in the fields of bio-impedance, (di)electrical properties of biological tissues and EIT applications. The combined conference provided a unique opportunity for researchers from both fields to share their research findings across a wider community. This conference follows the successful fourth conference on Biomedical Applications of Electrical Impedance Tomography, held at UMIST, Manchester in April 2004. Plans are already in place for the next EIT conference in London (2006) and XIII ICEBI in Graz (2007). The commitment of the bio-impedance and EIT communities shows that the state of both fields is still healthy, with new researchers joining the communities each year.

A record number of more than 230 participants from 33 countries decided to participate in the meeting in Gdansk and proposed more than 200 original presentations. The scientific committee of the conference carefully reviewed all submissions, selecting around 90 papers for oral and a similar number for poster presentations. Extended four page abstracts were published in the conference proceedings (two volumes, each of ∼400 pages) and also on a CD. The main topics were: bio-impedance basics—cells, tissues and organs; standards; electrodes and instrumentation; theory and modeling; applications; and also all aspects of EIT, including reconstruction algorithms and non-biomedical applications. Additionally six plenary papers and eight tutorial lecture summaries have been published. In this issue the best 29 papers, additionally prepared in extended form and carefully reviewed for Physiological Measurement, are published covering the most important topics of the conference.

Papers that were presented at the conference give a good picture of development in electroimpedance methods, including tomography and biomedical applications. They show a continual increase in the number of scientists working in this specific field as well as the inception of biomedical research in several research groups and centers. The extensive research in the field of electrical bio-impedance during the last 20 years is resulting in the implementation of methods in clinical practice and other applications; however, the general acceptance of electroimpedance methods is still limited. One of the main aims of the conference was the discussion of how to increase the trust and understanding of the value of electroimpedance in general medical practice and how to attract work in this field to put it on an even higher level. There are some basic limitations of this technology—the main ones are limited spatial resolution of EIT and low specificity of the method. The main advantages are the non-invasive character of investigation, easy use and low cost of instrumentation, allowing both in vivo and real time measurements. Some new development trends are visible, such as non-contact methods, including inductive probes and investigation of the electroimpedance properties of tissues exposed to ultrasonic or magnetic fields; MREIT, bringing together EIT and magnetic resonance imaging; and inductively coupled systems for EIT. Another important field of new applications is brain and head visualization. Still a great challenge is EI-mammography for fast and safe screening. Some other applications of EIT such as the evaluation of prostate cancer treatment by hyperthermia may be of great practical value in clinics.

It was also encouraging to see new methods for reconstructing the images in EIT presented at the conference. The importance of improved algorithms cannot be underestimated as they play a key role in bringing this area closer to clinical applications.

The future of EIT and bio-impedance still looks healthy, as demonstrated by the collection of papers in this special issue, which provides evidence of significant advances in all areas of these research fields.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) reactivity monitoring is an appropriate primary parameter to evaluate cerebral resuscitation due to a systemic or regional cerebral injury leading to possible irreversible brain injury. Use of the electrical impedance method to estimate CBF is rare, as the method's anatomical background is not well understood. Use of intracranial rheoencephalography (iREG) during hemorrhage and comparison of iREG to other CBF measurements have not been previously reported. Our hypothesis was that iREG would reflect early cerebrovascular alteration (CBF autoregulation). Studies comparing iREG, laser Doppler flowmetry and ultrasound were undertaken on anesthetized rats to define CBF changes during hemorrhage. Blood was removed at a rate required to achieve a mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) of 40 mm Hg over 15 min. Estimation of CBF was taken with intracranial, bipolar REG (REG I; n = 14), laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF; n = 3) and carotid flow by ultrasound (n = 11). Data were processed off-line. During the initial phase of hemorrhage, when MABP was close to 40 mm Hg, intracranial REG amplitude transiently increased (80.94%); LDF (77.92%) and carotid flow (52.04%) decreased and changed with systemic arterial pressure. Intracranial REG amplitude change suggests classical CBF autoregulation, demonstrating its close relationship to arteriolar changes. The studies indicate that iREG might reflect cerebrovascular responses more accurately than changes in local CBF measured by LDF and carotid flow. REG may indicate promise as a continuous, non-invasive life-sign monitoring tool with potential advantages over ultrasound, the CBF measurement technique normally applied in clinical practice. REG has particular advantages in non-hospital settings such as military and emergency medicine.

Use of impedance catheters can provide additional information about the composition and the morphology of early plaques in arteries. However, for a correct interpretation of the impedance data recorded inside a vessel, the extra-vessel conditions should not influence the measurement results. In this paper, we estimate the influence of the extra-vessel conditions on the impedance measurement of a vessel wall by using FEM simulation and a two-layer model. Therefore sensitivity fields are simulated. The simulations are validated by experiments and compared to analytical solutions. Further, the influence of the inner radius of a vessel on the measurement result is determined by FEM simulations. From experiments based on the two-layer model, it is found that the apparent resistance depends on the thickness of the first layer and the separation distance of the electrode structure. The measured result corresponds to the results of the FEM simulations, whereas the analytical solution assuming point electrodes is different from the measurement and simulation results. Under the assumption of homogenous and linear volume conductors, the FEM simulated distributions of sensitivity fields are determined. The inner diameter of the artery has no influence on the measurement results. The FEM simulation can support the design of electrode configuration and geometries for impedance catheters.

The aim of our study was to check the effect of varying blood volume in the chest and gravity on the distribution of ventilation and aeration in the lungs. The change in intrathoracic blood volume was elicited by application of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) of −50 cmH₂O. The variation of gravity in terms of hypogravity (∼0g) and hypergravity (∼2g) was induced by changes in vertical acceleration achieved during parabolic flights. Local ventilation magnitude and end-expiratory lung volume were determined in eight human subjects in the ventral and dorsal lung regions within a transverse cross-section of the lower chest by electrical impedance tomography. The subjects were studied in a 20° head-down tilted supine body position during tidal breathing and full forced expirations. During tidal breathing, a significant effect of gravity on local magnitude of ventilation and end-expiratory lung volume was detected in the dorsal lung regions both with and without LBNP. In the ventral regions, this gravity dependency was only observed during LBNP. During forced expiration, LBNP had almost no effect on local ventilation and end-expiratory lung volume in either lung region. Gravity significantly influenced the end-expiratory lung volumes in dorsal lung regions. The results indicate that exposure to LBNP exerts a less appreciable effect on regional lung ventilation than the acute changes in gravity.

Electrical bioimpedance spectroscopy (EBIS) is a technique that uses a probe to calculate the transfer impedance from tissues. This transfer impedance can give information about the normal or pathological condition of the tissue. To take readings, pressure has to be applied to the probe in order to get a good contact between the electrodes and the tissue. We have been using EBIS to investigate the early diagnosis of dysplasia and cancer in the human cervix, oesophagus and bladder. We have found that, with increasing pressure (range used here was approximately 1 kPa to approximately 50 kPa), the resistivity readings increase in a consistent way up to 80%. In this paper, we show how this is a case in three different tissue types (oesophageal, gastric and vesical samples). These increases can be higher than those associated with the pathological changes that we are investigating (non-inflamed columnar tissue, for instance, shows values 50% higher than dysplastic columnar tissue). Finite-element modelling was also used to investigate the effect of volume reduction in the connective tissue or stroma. This simulation suggests no strong correlation between reduction of this structure and increase in resistivity. We hypothesize therefore that these changes may be mainly associated with the squeezing of water from the extracellular space. Finally, as pressure is difficult to control by hand, we raise the issue of the necessity of considering this variable when making EIS measurements.

The present study reports the impedance changes observed in bovine liver samples exposed in vitro to high-intensity ultrasound. The measurement frequency ranged from 80 kHz to 2 MHz. The treatment resulted in the average increase of 20% in impedance magnitude at low frequency and the average decrease of 30% at high frequency. The phase angle increased significantly by more than 15° at all measurement frequencies. The slope of the log-modulus of impedance against log-frequency increased in treated tissue at frequencies above 500 kHz. This change was attributed to the alteration of the capacitive response of the tissue. The experimental observations are consistent with the known changes induced by high-energy ultrasound in liver tissue. This study confirmed that ultrasound energy produces measurable changes in a tissue's impedance and that indices can be derived to distinguish between original and treated tissues. The results obtained in liver tissue need confirmation in organs treatable with therapeutic ultrasound, such as breast and prostate.

Impedances and joint angles were simultaneously measured during ankle and knee movements. The correlation coefficients of the joint angle and the impedance change from human leg movement were obtained using an electro-goniometer and a four-channel impedance measurement system. Because the impedance changes resulting from ankle and knee movements depended heavily on the electrode placement, we determined the optimum electrode configurations for those movements by searching for high correlation coefficients, large impedance changes and minimum interferences in ten subjects (age: 20 ± 4). Our optimum electrode configurations showed strong relationships between the ankle joint angle and lower leg impedance (correlation coefficient = −0.91 ± 0.06) and between the knee joint angle and knee impedance (correlation coefficient = 0.94 ± 0.04). The reproducibilities of the impedance changes of five subjects due to the ankle and knee were 6.3 ± 1.9% and 5.1 ± 1.7% for the optimum electrode pairs, respectively. We propose that this optimum electrode configuration would be useful for future studies involving the convenient measurement of leg movements by the impedance method.

This paper presents the construction of a six-ring probe for monitoring immittance changes. The spatial sensitivity of the probe is defined. This is used to examine the uniqueness of the probe in terms of its application to monitoring conductivity changes. A spatial distribution of the sensitivity is presented for isotropic and anisotropic cases. The latter case is restricted only to anisotropy met when measuring muscles, i.e. diagonal anisotropy. Theoretical calculations performed using the finite element method were verified experimentally using a specially developed measuring system. An example of in vivo measurements is included.

One promising application of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is the monitoring of pulmonary ventilation and edema. Using three-dimensional (3D) finite difference human models as virtual phantoms, the factors that contribute to the observed lung resistivity changes in the EIT images were investigated. The results showed that the factors included not only tissue resistivity or vessel volume changes, but also chest expansion and tissue/organ movement. The chest expansion introduced artifacts in the center of the EIT images, ranging from −2% to 31% of the image magnitude. With the increase of simulated chest expansion, the percentage contribution of chest expansion relative to lung resistivity change in the EIT image remained relatively constant. The averaged resistivity changes in the lung regions caused by chest expansion ranged from 0.65% to 18.31%. Tissue/organ movement resulted in an increased resistivity in the lung region and in the center anterior region of EIT images. The increased resistivity with inspiration observed in the heart region was caused mainly by a drop in the heart position, which reduced the heart area at the electrode level and was replaced by the lung tissue with higher resistivity. This study indicates that for the analysis of EIT, data errors caused by chest expansion and tissue/organ movement need to be considered.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether body mass index (BMI) influences the estimation of extracellular volume (ECV) in hemodialysis (HD) patients when using segmental bioimpedance analysis (SBIA) compared to wrist-to-ankle bioimpedance analysis (WBIA) during HD with ultrafiltration (UF). Twenty five HD patients (M:F 19:6,) were studied, and further subdivided into two groups of patients, one group with a high BMI (⩾25 kg m⁻²) and the other with a low BMI (<25 kg m⁻²). Segmental (arm, trunk, leg) and wrist-to-ankle bioimpedance measurements on each patient were performed using a modified Xitron 4000B system (Xitron Technologies, San Diego, CA). No differences in extracellular resistance (R_E, ohms) between wrist-to-ankle (R_W) and sum of segments (R_S) were noted for either the high BMI (489.2 ± 82 ohm versus 491.6 ± 82 ohm, p = ns) or low BMI groups (560.8 ± 77 ohm versus 557.5 ± 75 ohm, p = ns). UF volume (UFV, liters) did not differ significantly between the groups (4.0 ± 0.9 L versus 3.3 ± 1.0 L, p = ns), but change in ECV (ΔECV) differed not only between methods: WBIA versus SBIA in the high BMI group (2.74 ± 1.1 L versus 3.64 ± 1.4 L, p < 0.001) and in the low BMI group (1.86 ± 0.9 L versus 2.91 ± 1.0 L, p < 0.05) but also between the high and lower BMI groups with WBIA (2.74 ± 1.1 L versus 1.86 ± 0.9 L, p < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in SBIA between BMI groups. This study suggests that the segmental bioimpedance approach may more accurately reflect changes in ECV during HD with UF than whole body impedance measurements.

The electric field tomography (EFT) method exploits interaction of high-frequency electric field with an inhomogeneous conductive medium without contact with the electrodes. The interaction is accompanied by a high-frequency redistribution of free charges inside the medium and leads to small and regular phase shifts of the field in the area surrounding an object. Such a kind of phenomenon is referred to as the Maxwell–Wagner relaxation. Measuring the perturbations of the field using the set of electrodes placed around the object enables us to reconstruct the internal structure of the medium, generally the spatial distribution of a nonlinear combination of permittivity and resistivity. In the case of biomedical applications the result of measurements is determined mainly by the resistivity of the tissues. Three-dimensional simulation based on the finite element method has demonstrated the feasibility of the technique.

A phantom was constructed to simulate the electrical properties of the neck. A range of possible electrode configurations was then examined in order to improve the sensitivity of the impedance measurement method for the in vivo detection of air emboli. The neck phantom consisted of simulated skin, fat and muscle layers made of agar and a conductive rubber tube mimicking the common carotid artery. The ring-shaped electrodes with a guard electrode showed the highest sensitivity to emboli at short distances.

In trabecular bone, the interrelationships of electrical and dielectric properties with mechanical characteristics are poorly known. Information on these relations is crucial for evaluation of the diagnostic potential of impedance techniques. In this study, electrical and dielectric properties, i.e. permittivity, conductivity, phase angle, loss factor, specific impedance and dissipation factor of human trabecular bone samples (n = 26, harvested from the distal femur and proximal tibia) were characterized in a wide frequency range (50 Hz–5 MHz). Mechanical properties, i.e. Young's modulus, ultimate strength, yield stress, yield strain and resilience of the samples (n = 20) were determined by using destructive compressive testing. Subsequently, measurements of electrical and dielectric properties were repeated after mechanical testing. The measurements were also repeated for the control samples (n = 6) that were not mechanically tested. Electrical, dielectric or mechanical properties showed no significant differences between the intact femoral and tibial samples. The electrical and dielectric parameters as well as the linear correlations between the dielectric and electrical parameters with mechanical parameters were strongly frequency dependent. At the frequency of 1.2 MHz, the relative permittivity showed the strongest linear correlations with the Young's modulus (r = 0.71, p < 0.01, n = 20) and ultimate strength (r = 0.73, p < 0.01, n = 20). Permittivity and dissipation factor showed statistically significant changes after mechanical testing. Our results suggest that the measurements of low frequency electrical and dielectric properties may provide information on the mechanical status of trabecular bone and, possibly, may even help to diagnose bone microdamage. In the future, these measurement techniques may be further developed for use during open surgery, such as bone grafting or total hip replacement surgery.

An equivalent electrical circuit model is used to describe the response of different tissue components in the calf to multi-frequency current. This model includes seven electrical components: skin resistance, contact capacitance, fat resistance, fat capacitance, extracellular resistance, intracellular resistance and cell membrane capacitance. Calf bioimpedance was measured on 30 pts using a multi-frequency bioimpedance device (Xitron 4200) with a range of frequency from 5 kHz to 1000 kHz. MRI was performed on each measured calf to provide body composition components: fat, muscle mass and bone. An equivalent circuit containing seven parameters (P₁, P₂, P₃, P₄, Q₁, Q₂, Q₃) was constructed to represent the model. To identify the effect of different body compositions on their parameters, subjects were subgrouped according to (1) their range of fat mass: F1 > 0.4 kg, F2 > 0.4 & F2 < 0.25 kg and F3 < 0.25 kg; (2) their range of muscle mass: M1 > 1.2 kg, M2 < 1.2 & M2 > 1.0 kg and M3 < 0.25 kg. Curve fitting and simulation programs (Matlab Toolbox) were used to obtain the solution of the electrical equations. The results show a decrease in impedance with an increase in excitation frequency that differed among subjects with different fat contents. Simulation results show a high correlation (R² > 0.98) between the bioimpedance measurements and the value calculated from the model. There are significant differences in parameters P₁ (32.5 ± 5.9 versus 26 ± 4.4, p < 0.05), P₃ (−15 330 ± 3352 versus −10 973 ± 3448, p < 0.05) and P₄ (42 640 versus 24 191, p < 0.05) between groups F1 and F3. P₂ is significantly different (1045 ± 442 versus 1407 ± 349, p < 0.05) between groups M1 and M2. The parameters that characterize the bioimpedance data depend upon many more tissue characteristics of electrical properties than those incorporated in current models and they are affected by aspects of body composition that are not considered in the fitting of bioimpedance data. This study shows a new model and methodology to analyze bioimpedance data and further work is likely to lead to much better understanding of electrical properties of body tissue.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in undernourished female patients with anorexia nervosa. Participants were 86 female patients with anorexia nervosa (age 20.8 ± 4.7 years; weight 39.3 ± 5.2 kg; body mass index 15.4 ± 1.6 kg m⁻²). BMR was measured by indirect calorimetry and single-frequency BIA was determined at 50 kHz on the whole body. The BIA variables considered were resistance, reactance, phase angle and the bioimpedance index (height²/resistance). Fat-free mass was calculated from subcutaneous skin fold thickness. In the study group BMR was 3782 ± 661 kJ d⁻¹ while bioimpedance index varied between 27.6 and 49.9 cm² Ω⁻¹ and phase angle between 2.54° and 6.49°. BMR was significantly correlated with weight, height, body mass index and fat-free mass, and, among BIA variables, with reactance and phase angle. Multiple regression analysis indicated that phase angle was a predictor of BMR not only when solely BIA variables were considered, but also in combination with either weight and age or fat-free mass. In conclusion, phase angle emerged as a strong predictor of BMR in female patients with anorexia nervosa. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to confirm this finding in other forms of protein energy malnutrition and justify the inclusion of BIA variables in the equations used to predict BMR in the clinical setting.

Previous clinical studies have shown that impedance measurements using right ventricular (RV) leads can monitor congestion due to heart failure. We previously reported on a three-fold advantage of bipolar left ventricular (LV) leads, which are near the lung, over RV leads in detecting pulmonary edema with impedance. A combined system of internal and external electrodes is now investigated using computer models, for use with conventional cardiac resynchronization (CRT) systems with unipolar LV leads. The system uses the normal LV pacing pulse as current source, and the resultant voltage at two skin electrodes to obtain a lung edema impedance (Z) measurement. Using gated MRIs, thoracic computer models of 3.8 million control volumes were constructed. Changes of Z with edema were simulated with a conventional totally implanted system, as well as with combined implanted-external systems. Right atrial (RA), RV, RV defibrillator coil and LV leads were used. Per cent Z responses to edema were compared. The all implanted responses were RA: 11.8%, RV: 8.6%, RVcoil: 11.3%, LV: 23.8%. The combined system responses were LV-ext: 21.45%, RA-ext: 10.13%, LV-arm leg: 26.08%. The computer models suggest that combined internal–external systems can be as sensitive as the totally implanted ones. Lung edema may be monitored at follow up or home for LV paced patients with only two external electrodes. Using very low impedance configurations optimized by computer can greatly maximize the response, with a cost of poor stability.

In the case of living tissues, the spectral width of the electrical bioimpedance dispersions (closely related with the α parameter in the Cole equation) evolves during the ischemic periods. This parameter is often ignored in favor of other bioimpedance parameters such as the central frequency or the resistivity at low frequencies. The object of this paper is to analyze the significance of this parameter through computer simulations (in the α and β dispersion regions) and to demonstrate its practical importance through experimental studies performed in rat kidneys during cold preservation. The simulations indicate that the dispersion width could be determined by the morphology of the extra-cellular spaces. The experimental studies show that it is a unique parameter able to detect certain conditions such as a warm ischemia period prior to cold preservation or the effect of a drug (Swinholide A) able to disrupt the cytoskeleton. The main conclusion is that, thanks to the α parameter in the Cole equation, the bioimpedance is not only useful to monitor the intra/extra-cellular volume imbalances or the inter-cellular junctions resistance but also to detect tissue structural alterations.

One unfortunate occurrence in experimental measurements with electrical impedance tomography is electrodes which become detached or poorly connected, such that the measured data cannot be used. This paper presents an automatic approach to detect such erroneous electrodes. It is based on the assumption that all valid measurements are related by the image reconstruction model, while the measurements from erroneous electrodes are unrelated. The method estimates the data at an electrode based on the measurements from all other electrodes, and compares it to the measurements. If these data match adequately, the set of electrodes does not contain an erroneous electrode. In order to detect an erroneous electrode amongst N electrodes, all sets of N − 1 electrodes are tested, and the set with the best match between measurements and estimate is identified as the one which excludes the erroneous electrode. The method was tested on simulated and experimental data and showed consistent identification of erroneous electrodes with those made by experts.

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive technique that aims to reconstruct images of internal electrical properties of a domain, based on electrical measurements on the periphery. Improvements in instrumentation and numerical modeling have led to three-dimensional (3D) imaging. The availability of 3D modeling and imaging raises the question of identifying the best possible excitation patterns that will yield to data, which can be used to produce the best image reconstruction of internal properties. In this work, we describe our 3D finite element model of EIT. Through singular value decomposition as well as examples of reconstructed images, we show that for a homogenous female breast model with four layers of electrodes, a driving pattern where each excitation plane is a sinusoidal pattern out-of-phase with its neighboring plane produces better qualitative images. However, in terms of quantitative imaging an excitation pattern where all electrode layers are in phase produces better results.

This paper describes the use of the shrinking sLORETA-FOCUSS algorithm to improve the spatial resolution of three-dimensional (3D) EIT images. Conventional EIT yields inaccurate, low spatial resolution images, due to noise, the low sensitivity of boundary voltages to inner conductivity perturbations and a limited number of boundary voltage measurements. The focal underdetermined system solver (FOCUSS) algorithm produces a localized energy solution based on the weighted minimum-norm least-squares (MNLS) solution. It was successfully applied for the spatial resolution improvement of EIT images of simulated and tank data for a 2D homogeneous circular disc. However, due to the fact that a 3D mesh system contains many more elements, much more memory is required to store the weighting matrix. In order to extend the work to 3D, the shrinking-FOCUSS method is utilized to shrink the solution space as well as the weighting matrix in each iteration step. The solution of the standardized low resolution electromagnetic tomography algorithm (sLORETA) is adopted as the initial estimate of the shrinking-FOCUSS. The effectiveness is verified by implementing the new algorithm on tank data for a three-dimensional homogeneous sphere.

In our group at University College London, we have been developing electrical impedance tomography (EIT) of brain function. We have attempted to improve image quality by the use of realistic anatomical meshes and, more recently, non-linear reconstruction methods. Reconstruction with linear methods, with pre-processing, may take up to a few minutes per image for even detailed meshes. However, iterative non-linear reconstruction methods require much more computational resources, and reconstruction with detailed meshes was taking far too long for clinical use. We present a solution to this timing bottleneck, using the resources of the GRID, the development of coordinated computing resources over the internet that are not subject to centralized control using standard, open, general-purpose protocols and are transparent to the user. Optimization was performed by splitting reconstruction of image series into individual jobs of one image each; no parallelization was attempted. Using the GRID middleware 'Condor' and a cluster of 920 nodes, reconstruction of EIT images of the human head with a non-linear algorithm was speeded up by 25–40 times compared to serial processing of each image. This distributed method is of direct practical value in applications such as EIT of epileptic seizures where hundreds of images are collected over the few minutes of a seizure and will be of value to clinical data collection with similar requirements. In the future, the same resources could be employed for the more ambitious task of parallelized code.

In this paper, an effective dynamical EIT imaging scheme is presented for on-line monitoring of the abruptly changing resistivity distribution inside the object, based on the interacting multiple model (IMM) algorithm. The inverse problem is treated as a stochastic nonlinear state estimation problem with the time-varying resistivity (state) being estimated on-line with the aid of the IMM algorithm. In the design of the IMM algorithm multiple models with different process noise covariance are incorporated to reduce the modeling uncertainty. Simulations and phantom experiments are provided to illustrate the proposed algorithm.

Bioelectrical impedance measurements are widely used for the study of body composition. Commonly measurements are made at 50 kHz to estimate total body water or at low frequencies (<10 kHz) to estimate extracellular fluid volume. These measurements can be obtained as single measurements at discrete frequencies, or as fitted data interpolated from plots of measurements made at multiple frequencies. This study compared single frequency and multiple frequency (MF) measurements taken in the intensive care environment. MF bioimpedance (4–1000 kHz) was measured on an adult with and without cardiorespiratory monitoring, and on babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. Measurements obtained at individual frequencies were plotted against frequency and examined for the presence of outlying points. Fitted data for measurements obtained at 5 kHz and 50 kHz with and without cardiorespiratory monitoring were compared. Significant artefacts were detected in measurements at approximately 50 kHz and at integral divisions of this frequency as a result of interference from cardiorespiratory monitors. Single frequency measurements taken at these frequencies may be subject to errors that would be difficult to detect without the aid of information obtained from MF measurements.

Magnetic induction tomography (MIT) of biological tissue is used to reconstruct the changes in the complex conductivity distribution inside an object under investigation. The measurement principle is based on determining the perturbation ΔB of a primary alternating magnetic field B₀, which is coupled from an array of excitation coils to the object under investigation. The corresponding voltages ΔV and V₀ induced in a receiver coil carry the information about the passive electrical properties (i.e. conductivity, permittivity and permeability). The reconstruction of the conductivity distribution requires the solution of a 3D inverse eddy current problem. As in EIT the inverse problem is ill-posed and on this account some regularization scheme has to be applied. We developed an inverse solver based on the Gauss–Newton-one-step method for differential imaging, and we implemented and tested four different regularization schemes: the first and second approaches employ a classical smoothness criterion using the unit matrix and a differential matrix of first order as the regularization matrix. The third method is based on variance uniformization, and the fourth method is based on the truncated singular value decomposition. Reconstructions were carried out with synthetic measurement data generated with a spherical perturbation at different locations within a conducting cylinder. Data were generated on a different mesh and 1% random noise was added. The model contained 16 excitation coils and 32 receiver coils which could be combined pairwise to give 16 planar gradiometers. With 32 receiver coils all regularization methods yield fairly good 3D-images of the modelled changes of the conductivity distribution, and prove the feasibility of difference imaging with MIT. The reconstructed perturbations appear at the right location, and their size is in the expected range. With 16 planar gradiometers an additional spurious feature appears mirrored with respect to the median plane with negative sign. This demonstrates that a symmetrical arrangement with one ring of planar gradiometers cannot distinguish between a positive conductivity change at the true location and a negative conductivity change at the mirrored location.

The use of realistic anatomy in the model used for image reconstruction in EIT of brain function appears to confer significant improvements compared to geometric shapes such as a sphere. Accurate model geometry may be achieved by numerical models based on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of the head, and this group has elected to use finite element meshing (FEM) as it enables detailed internal anatomy to be modelled and has the capability to incorporate information about tissue anisotropy. In this paper a method for generating accurate FEMs of the human head is presented where MRI images are manually segmented using custom adaptation of industry standard commercial design software packages. This is illustrated with example surface models and meshes from adult epilepsy patients, a neonatal baby and a phantom latex tank incorporating a real skull. Mesh quality is assessed in terms of element stretch and hence distortion.

In this study the performance of a planar array for magnetic induction tomography (MIT) was investigated and the results of measurements to determine the precision and sensitivity of the sensor were undertaken. A planar-array MIT system utilizing flux-linkage minimization for the primary field has been constructed and evaluated. The system comprises 4 printed excitation coils of 4 turns which were shielded, 8 surface-mount inductors of inductance 10 µH as sensor, mounted such that in principle no primary-field flux threads them, and a calibration coil to produce a strong primary field. The excitation current was multiplexed via relays to drive the excitation and reference coils. The noise values were similar in real and imaginary components in the lower frequencies and the factor to which the primary field could be reduced was greatest in the nearest coil. Methods for determining the true real and imaginary components and for flux-linkage minimization for the primary field for variations in channel sensitivities are described and the results of measurements of the system's noise and drift are given. A SNR of 47 dB was observed at 4 MHz when a 0.3 Sm⁻¹ saline filled tank of dimensions 20 cm × 20 cm × 10 cm was placed centrally over the array. Finally, images were reconstructed from measurements of saline samples in a free space background, with the samples moved past the array in 21 1 cm steps to emulate mechanical scanning of the array. The image reconstruction characteristics of the planar array in conjunction with the reconstruction technique employed are discussed.

We present cross-sectional conductivity images of two biological tissue phantoms. Each of the cylindrical phantoms with both diameter and height of 140 mm contained chunks of biological tissues such as bovine tongue and liver, porcine muscle and chicken breast within a conductive agar gelatin as the background medium. We attached four recessed electrodes on the sides of the phantom with equal spacing among them. Injecting current pulses of 480 or 120 mA ms into the phantom along two different directions, we measured the z-component B_z of the induced magnetic flux density B = (B_x, B_y, B_z) with a magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) system based on a 3.0 T MRI scanner. Using the harmonic B_z algorithm, we reconstructed cross-sectional conductivity images from the measured B_z data. Reconstructed images clearly distinguish different tissues in terms of both their shapes and conductivity values. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of the MREIT technique in producing conductivity images of different biological soft tissues with a high spatial resolution and accuracy when we use a sufficient amount of the injection current.

Magnetic resonance–electrical impedance tomography (MR-EIT) is a conductivity imaging method based on injecting currents into the object. In this study, a new MR-EIT method, whereby currents are induced inside the object by using external coils, is proposed. This new method is called induced current magnetic resonance–electrical impedance tomography. In induced current MR-EIT surface electrodes are not used and thereby artifacts due to electrodes are eliminated. The reconstruction algorithm is based on the measurement of only one component of the secondary magnetic flux density. The algorithm is an iterative one, is 3D and is based on the solution of a linear matrix equation at each iteration. For the measurement of secondary magnetic flux density, a pulse sequence to be used in the MRI system is proposed. Numerical simulations are performed to test the algorithm for both noise-free and noisy cases. The singular value behavior of the matrix is monitored and it is observed that at least two current induction profiles improve the images significantly. It is shown that induced current MR-EIT can be used to reconstruct absolute conductivity images without the need for any additional peripheral voltage measurement.

Magnetic induction tomography (MIT) is a low-resolution imaging modality which aims at the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the electrical conductivity in objects from alternating magnetic fields. In MIT systems the magnetic field perturbations to be detected are very small when compared to the excitation field (ppm range). The voltage which is induced by the excitation field in the receiver coils must be suppressed for providing sufficient dynamic range. In the past, two very efficient strategies were proposed: adjusted planar gradiometers (PGRAD) and the orientation of a receiver coil with respect to the excitation coil such that the net magnetic flow is zero (zero flow coil, ZFC). In contrast to the PGRAD no voltage is induced in the ZFC by the main field. This is advantageous because two comparatively high voltages in the two gradiometer coils can never be subtracted perfectly, thus leaving a residual voltage which is prone to drift. However, a disadvantage of the ZFC is the higher susceptibility to interferences from far RF sources. In contrast, in the gradiometer such interferences are cancelled to a high degree. We developed a new type of gradiometer (zero flow gradiometer, ZFGRAD) which combines the advantages of ZFC and PGRAD. All three systems were compared with respect to sensitivity and perturbation to signal ratio (PSR) defined as the ratio of the signal change due to a magnetic perturbation field at the carrier frequency and the signal change due to shifting a metallic sphere between two test points. The spatial sensitivity of the three systems was found to be very similar. The PSR of the ZFGRAD was more than 12 times lower than that of the ZFC. Finally, the feasibility of image reconstruction with two arrays of eight excitation coils and eight ZFGRAD, respectively, was shown with a single-step Gauss–Newton reconstructor and simulated measurement data generated for a cylindrical tank with a spherical perturbation. The resulting images show a clear, bright feature at the correct position of the sphere and are comparable to those with PGRAD arrays.

In magnetic induction tomography reducing the influence of the primary excitation field on the sensors can provide a significant improvement in SNR and/or allow the operating frequency to be reduced. For the purposes of imaging, it would be valuable if all, or a useful subset, of the detection coils could be rendered insensitive to the primary field for any excitation coil activated. Suitable schemes which have been previously suggested include the use of axial gradiometers and coil-orientation methods (Bx sensors). This paper examines the relative performance of each method through computer simulation of the sensitivity profiles produced by a single sensor, and comparison of reconstructed images produced by sensor arrays. A finite-difference model was used to determine the sensitivity profiles obtained with each type of sensor arrangement. The modelled volume was a cuboid of dimensions 50 cm × 50 cm × 12 cm with a uniform conductivity of 1 S m⁻¹. The excitation coils were of 5 cm diameter and the detection coils of 5 mm diameter. The Bx sensors provided greater sensitivity than the axial gradiometers at all depths, other than on the surface layer of the volume. Images produced using a single-planar array were found to contain distortion which was reduced by the addition of a second array.