Three-dimensional electrical impedance tomography

THE electrical resistivity of mammalian tissues varies widely(1-5) and is correlated with physiological function(6-8). Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) can be used to probe such variations in vivo, and offers a non-invasive means of imaging the internal conductivity distribution of the human body(9-11). But the computational complexity of EIT has severe practical limitations, and previous work has been restricted to considering image reconstruction as an essentially two-dimensional problem(10,12). This simplification can limit significantly the imaging capabilities of EIT, as the electric currents used to determine the conductivity variations will not in general be confined to a two-dimensional plane(13), A few studies have attempted three-dimensional EIT image reconstruction(14,15), but have not yet succeeded in generating images of a quality suitable for clinical applications. Here we report the development of a three-dimensional EIT system with greatly improved imaging capabilities, which combines our 64-electrode data-collection apparatus(16) with customized matrix inversion techniques. Our results demonstrate the practical potential of EIT for clinical applications, such as lung or brain imaging and diagnostic screenings.