Simultaneous application of two independent EIT devices for real-time multi-plane imaging

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Pulmonary Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate 3D lung ventilation data is crucial for diagnosing and treating respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Current single-plane electrical impedance tomography (EIT) offers high temporal resolution but lacks comprehensive 3D spatial information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using two concurrently operated EIT systems for multi-plane thoracic ventilation monitoring.
• To assess the impact of electrode plane distance and filtering techniques on signal quality and crosstalk reduction.

Main Methods:

• Simulations using a virtual phantom.
• Experiments with a phantom tank.
• Measurements from a healthy human volunteer.
• Application of adapted band-pass filters to mitigate crosstalk between EIT systems.

Main Results:

• The distance between electrode planes significantly influences signal quality.
• Adapted band-pass filters effectively reduce crosstalk between simultaneously operated EIT systems.
• Reconstructed images demonstrate the capability to visualize regional ventilation at different planes concurrently.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent operation of two EIT systems enables simultaneous multi-plane visualization of regional lung ventilation.
• This multi-plane EIT approach offers a promising, hardware-efficient method for enhanced thoracic monitoring.
• Appropriate EIT device settings are essential for successful implementation.