Abstract
Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a low-cost, noninvasive and radiation free medical imaging modality for monitoring ventilation distribution in the lung. Although such information could be invaluable in preventing ventilator-induced lung injury in mechanically ventilated patients, clinical application of EIT is hindered by difficulties in interpreting the resulting images. One source of this difficulty is the frequent use of simple shapes which do not correspond to the anatomy to reconstruct EIT images. The mismatch between the true body shape and the one used for reconstruction is known to introduce errors, which to date have not been properly characterized. In the present study we, therefore, seek to 1) characterize and quantify the errors resulting from a reconstruction shape mismatch for a number of popular EIT reconstruction algorithms and 2) develop recommendations on the tolerated amount of mismatch for each algorithm. Using real and simulated data, we analyze the performance of four EIT reconstruction algorithms under different degrees of shape mismatch. Results suggest that while slight shape mismatch is well tolerated by all algorithms, using a circular shape severely degrades their performance.
Highlights
E LECTRICAL impedance tomography (EIT) is a promising medical imaging modality for monitoring ventilation distribution in the lung
In a preliminary study of one reconstruction algorithm [9], we showed that using the correct body shape obtained from a computed tomography (CT) scan produces reconstructions qualitatively superior to those produced with a circular shape
We present a systematic study into the effect of reconstructing EIT data using models not reflecting the true shape of the investigated body
Summary
E LECTRICAL impedance tomography (EIT) is a promising medical imaging modality for monitoring ventilation distribution in the lung. In thoracic EIT, imperceptible current injection and voltage measurement through surface electrodes around the thorax are used to reconstruct a conductivity map across a transverse slice of the body. EIT is low-cost, noninvasive, radiation free, and available at the bedside. One of the most promising applications of EIT is for monitoring and/or guiding mechanical ventilation therapy. The ability of EIT to measure regional distribution of ventilation has been validated against single photon emission computed. Manuscript received March 22, 2012; revised May 14, 2012; accepted May 15, 2012. Date of publication May 22, 2012; date of current version August 28, 2012.
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