A 10 MHz Read-Out Chain for Electrical Impedance Tomography.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) offers a portable and affordable method for spectral imaging of tissues.
• Current EIT applications require fast read-out channels capable of covering a wide frequency range for effective spectral imaging.
• Home health monitoring necessitates compact and efficient EIT devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a novel read-out chain for EIT imaging.
• To achieve a wide operational frequency range for spectral imaging.
• To develop a power-efficient and high-performance read-out chain suitable for portable EIT devices.

Main Methods:

• The read-out chain was designed and fabricated using a 0.18 µm CMOS technology.
• The system integrates a programmable gain instrumentation amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and an ADC driver.
• Performance was evaluated across a broad frequency spectrum.

Main Results:

• The fabricated read-out chain operates effectively from 100 Hz to 10 MHz.
• An average signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 60 dB was achieved.
• Power consumption ranges from 6.9 mW to 21.8 mW, varying with the operating frequency.

Conclusions:

• The developed read-out chain meets the requirements for advanced EIT imaging, particularly for home health monitoring.
• The design demonstrates a viable solution for spectral imaging with high signal integrity and broad frequency coverage.
• This work contributes to the advancement of portable and cost-effective medical imaging technologies.