title: On optimal current patterns for electrical impedance tomography.
abstract: We develop a statistical criterion for optimal patterns in planar circular electrical impedance tomography. These patterns minimize the total variance of the estimation for the resistance or conductance matrix. It is shown that trigonometric patterns (Isaacson, 1986), originally derived from the concept of distinguishability, are a special case of our optimal statistical patterns. New optimal random patterns are introduced. Recovering the electrical properties of the measured body is greatly simplified when optimal patterns are used. The Neumann-to-Dirichlet map and the optimal patterns are derived for a homogeneous medium with an arbitrary distribution of the electrodes on the periphery. As a special case, optimal patterns are developed for a practical EIT system with a finite number of electrodes. For a general nonhomogeneous medium, with no a priori restriction, the optimal patterns for the resistance and conductance matrix are the same. However, for a homogeneous medium, the best current pattern is the worst voltage pattern and vice versa. We study the effect of the number and the width of the electrodes on the estimate of resistivity and conductivity in a homogeneous medium. We confirm experimentally that the optimal patterns produce minimum conductivity variance in a homogeneous medium. Our statistical model is able to discriminate between a homogenous agar phantom and one with a 2 mm air hole with error probability (p-value) 1/1000.
authors.affiliation: Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and the Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA. eugened@dartmouth.edu
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Demidenko
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartov
authors.forename: Nirmal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soni
authors.forename: Keith D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Paulsen
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008954:Models, Biological; D014054:Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*