Numerical Analysis of Geometric Influences in Tetrapolar Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy Using Monte Carlo Simulations

Abstract Electrical impedance spectroscopy is promising for intraoperative cancer diagnosis by differentiating tissue based on its electrical properties, yet faces challenges from material nonlinearities and sensor effects. In this study, 3D finite element simulations were performed to analyze geometric dependencies. Two different tetrapolar ring electrode layouts are placed on virtual piece of normal and tumor tissue with each radius varied using Monte Carlo simulations and the resulting impedances and cell constants were evaluated statistically. Additionally, a novel sensitivity quality metric is introduced, enabling the identification of the geometry more suitable for impedance measurements. The results highlight the superior sensitivity quality of the improved geometry. Future research should integrate the geometric Monte Carlo approach with variations of dielectric properties of tissue and optimizing the quality metric taking electrode polarization effects into considerations.