3D EIT for cardiac function imaging using internal electrodes: Preliminary simulations and pilot results

Abstract

We are developing a tool to monitor cardiac function in intensive care units with critically ill patients. The current gold standard is a gated heart pool scan, which provides a good assessment of global heart function, but with low resolution, long lead time, and radiation risks. Less accurate alternatives include trans-esophageal echocardiography, where the ultrasonic prove is inserted into the esophagus behind and close to the heart, and transthoracic echocardiography, where the probe observes the ehart through the intercostal spaces. These echo modalities often do not provide satisfactory results in these patients due to lung and rib artifacts, and the sizes of probe currently used for the trans-esophageal echocardiogram is large, inconvenient for patients, and unable to be left in situ. EIT is a safe, inexpensive and potentially fast method for global cardiac output imaging but the spatial resolution is presently low.