Research on Pneumothorax Detection Based on Magneto-Acousto-Electrical Tomography

Pneumothorax can cause chest tightness, chest pain, and respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of pneumothorax are crucial. Magneto-Acousto-Electrical Tomography (MAET) is an imaging technique in which ultrasound and electromagnetism are mutually coupled. It has the advantages of high spatial resolution and high image contrast. In this paper, we use MAET to study porous and air-containing lung tissue. We first simulate the characteristics of the MAET signal as the degree of pneumothorax increases. The relationship between the size of the ultrasonic probe and the size of the pneumothorax was discussed. The simulation results show that the reflection and attenuation values of the MAET voltage signals increase as the pneumothorax size gradually increases, regardless of whether the ultrasound transducer size is larger or smaller than the pneumothorax size. Finally, the MAET experimental platform was built to validate the simulation results of MAET signals. The results of the experiment and simulation are consistent with each other. The research of this paper has a certain reference value for the detection of pneumothorax using MAET. © 2021, Electromagnetics Academy. All rights reserved.