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Title: Sub-millimeter resolution electrical conductivity images of brain tissues using magnetic resonance-based electrical impedance tomography

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4926920· OSTI ID:22483205
; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)
  2. Department of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)
  3. Department of Pharmacology, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756 (Korea, Republic of)
  4. Department of Mathematics, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701 (Korea, Republic of)

Recent magnetic resonance (MR)-based electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) of in vivo animal and human subjects enabled the imaging of electromagnetic properties, such as conductivity and permittivity, on tissue structure and function with a few millimeter pixel size. At those resolutions, the conductivity contrast might be sufficient to distinguish different tissue type for certain applications. Since the precise measurement of electrical conductivity under the tissue levels can provide alternative information in a wide range of biomedical applications, it is necessary to develop high-resolution MREIT technique to enhance its availability. In this study, we provide the experimental evaluation of sub-millimeter resolution conductivity imaging method using a 3T MR scanner combined with a multi-echo MR pulse sequence, multi-channel RF coil, and phase optimization method. From the phantom and animal imaging results, sub-millimeter resolution exhibited similar signal-to-noise ratio of MR magnitude and noise levels in magnetic flux density comparing to the existing millimeter resolution. The reconstructed conductivity images at sub-millimeter resolution can distinguish different brain tissues with a pixel size as small as 350 μm.

OSTI ID:
22483205
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English