Electrical impedance tomography: a review of current literature

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a relatively new imaging technique that has been developed during the past decade. The electrical properties of tissues are imaged by injecting small currents and measuring the resultant voltages. These voltages are then converted into a tomographic image using a reconstructing algorithm. The method has no known hazards and is relatively inexpensive. There are many possible clinical applications of this technique but apart from gastric emptying, most are still at the research stage as there are various technical and practical problems to be overcome. This paper describes the basic principles of EIT and reviews the English literature to try to assess its potential in clinical imaging.