The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

High fidelity imaging in electrical impedance tomography

High fidelity imaging in electrical impedance tomography
High fidelity imaging in electrical impedance tomography
This thesis addresses the computational reconstruction of images using Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). EIT is an imaging method, in which electrical currents are injected through electrodes into a conducting volume and the resulting potential distribution is measured at surface electrodes. From these potentials, an image of the electrical conductivity can be obtained using numerical reconstruction techniques. This non-linear reconstruction is mathematically difficult and computationally intensive. Most applications in medicine and industry rely upon a fast and accurate image acquisition. The aim of this investigation is to find methods which improve the speed and accuracy of EIT by a range of improvements to the numerical methods used in the forward solution and inverse reconstruction. We investigate the impact of the finite element discretization on the performance of computing the electric field forward solution. We derive an a posteriori error estimate on the finite element mesh and implement 2D adaptive mesh refinement techniques in an optimised forward solver. Our results of this novel approach show that a speed-up of approximately an order of magnitude can be obtained. We extend the developed iterative Newton-Raphson algorithm to include image smoothness constraints and adaptive mesh refinement based on conductivity gradients in the image. The results show that the image resolution can be made independent of the underlying numerical discretization and therefore is limited only by the level of noise present in the measurements. An additional benefit of this new technique is the automatic focus of available computational resources on key regions for forward solution and inverse reconstruction. As 3D impedance imaging becomes computationally too expensive for the Newton-Raphson method, we develop a novel non-linear conjugate gradient algorithm incorporating 3D adaptive mesh refinement routines, and present results showing the decrease of memory requirements and the increase in image reconstruction performance. In addition, a Matlab software package containing optimised routines for the finite element-based computations in EIT has been developed as part of this work. Finally, we outline a method for obtaining a map for the determination of the reconstruction reliability and image correlation of an EIT algorithm. With the improvements to reconstruction accuracy and speed investigated in this thesis, we conclude that efficient non-linear 3D impedance imaging is feasible
computational modelling and simulation of electrical impedance tomography, self-adaptive finite element model, medical imaging, biomedical application of finite element analysis, improved image resolution, conjugate gradient solver
Molinari, Marc
db124af1-8110-4ac5-823b-cc9bdc896432
Molinari, Marc
db124af1-8110-4ac5-823b-cc9bdc896432

Molinari, Marc (2003) High fidelity imaging in electrical impedance tomography. University of Southampton, School of Electronics and Computer Science, Doctoral Thesis, 150pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

This thesis addresses the computational reconstruction of images using Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). EIT is an imaging method, in which electrical currents are injected through electrodes into a conducting volume and the resulting potential distribution is measured at surface electrodes. From these potentials, an image of the electrical conductivity can be obtained using numerical reconstruction techniques. This non-linear reconstruction is mathematically difficult and computationally intensive. Most applications in medicine and industry rely upon a fast and accurate image acquisition. The aim of this investigation is to find methods which improve the speed and accuracy of EIT by a range of improvements to the numerical methods used in the forward solution and inverse reconstruction. We investigate the impact of the finite element discretization on the performance of computing the electric field forward solution. We derive an a posteriori error estimate on the finite element mesh and implement 2D adaptive mesh refinement techniques in an optimised forward solver. Our results of this novel approach show that a speed-up of approximately an order of magnitude can be obtained. We extend the developed iterative Newton-Raphson algorithm to include image smoothness constraints and adaptive mesh refinement based on conductivity gradients in the image. The results show that the image resolution can be made independent of the underlying numerical discretization and therefore is limited only by the level of noise present in the measurements. An additional benefit of this new technique is the automatic focus of available computational resources on key regions for forward solution and inverse reconstruction. As 3D impedance imaging becomes computationally too expensive for the Newton-Raphson method, we develop a novel non-linear conjugate gradient algorithm incorporating 3D adaptive mesh refinement routines, and present results showing the decrease of memory requirements and the increase in image reconstruction performance. In addition, a Matlab software package containing optimised routines for the finite element-based computations in EIT has been developed as part of this work. Finally, we outline a method for obtaining a map for the determination of the reconstruction reliability and image correlation of an EIT algorithm. With the improvements to reconstruction accuracy and speed investigated in this thesis, we conclude that efficient non-linear 3D impedance imaging is feasible

Text
molinari_phd-dissertation-EIT_2003.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
Download (3MB)

More information

Published date: June 2003
Keywords: computational modelling and simulation of electrical impedance tomography, self-adaptive finite element model, medical imaging, biomedical application of finite element analysis, improved image resolution, conjugate gradient solver
Organisations: University of Southampton

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 45805
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/45805
PURE UUID: 41c6e670-5ecf-4106-ac3b-88cf0688f797

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 12 Apr 2007
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 09:13

Export record

Contributors

Author: Marc Molinari

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×