Experimental setup for developing acousto-electric interaction imaging

Acousto-Electric Interaction (AEI) is a physical phenomenon identified in the literature as potentially useful for imaging the electrical conductivity of biological tissues. AEI could lead to a non-invasive technique for detecting breast tumors, since the conductivity of pathological tissues differs significantly from the conductivity of healthy breast tissues. Applying AEI to image heterogeneous structures of the size of the breast represents a major technical challenge. We present in this paper an experimental setup designed to address the various instrumentation issues of AEI. Tests results are presented showing the ultrasonic vibration potential (also known as the Debye effect) and the AEI signals. A preliminary analysis of the AEI signal we recorded suggests that cavitation effects can be measured with this technique.