Sensitivity analysis of magnetic detection electrical impedance tomography: A numerical study

Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is safe, non-invasive, and cost-effective medical imaging technique that reconstructs the conductivity, or impedance, inside the body. It employs electrodes located on the exterior and sequentialy injects alternating currents between a pair of them and measures the resultant voltage on the remaining electrodes. To overcome the severely ill-posedness of EIT, that is the sensitivity of peripheral voltages to inner conductivities, magnetic readings can be added as in Magnetic Detection Electrical Impedance Tomography (MD-EIT). Here through numerical simulations we investigate the sensitivity and accuracy in the signal of the added magnetic readings and compare to the standard EIT. In particular a 3D cylindrical phantom with 16 electrodes was simulated where magnetic sensors were placed inbetween electrode pairs and that multiple sensor/target configurations were investigated. We identified numerical inaccuracy as a key factor influencing magnetic field calculations. In general, ρ the radial component of the magnetic field showed a signal sensitivity comparable to the one of standard EIT, while the z component was the largest in magnitude and the least affected by mesh-induced numerical artefacts. • Magnetic readings enhance EIT sensitivity, especially via the radial ( ρ ) component. • The z component of the magnetic field is the largest in magnitude. • Mesh-induced numerical artefacts limits MD-EIT, requiring higher-accuracy computational methods.