The contribution of blood-flow-induced conductivity changes to measured impedance.

Abstract

The paper considers the contribution of conductivity changes undergone in an anisotropical medium to measured resistance. This was achieved by extending the relationship proposed by Geselowitz to anisotropical materials described, therefore, by a conductivity tensor. It was found that each element of a conductivity change tensor contributed to the measured resistance only if a corresponding component of the electrical field was nonzero. Numerical calculations were performed for blood-flow-associated conductivity changes. A special experiment stand was developed which allowed experiments to be performed proving the theoretical results. It was found that the absolute value of resistance change measured in the direction perpendicular to the vessel axis was much smaller than that measured along the vessel axis. The results obtained may explain the fact that the actual change of measured resistance created by changes of conductivity induced by aortic blood flow is lower than expected from simplified models.