ACT5 Electrical Impedance Tomography System.

Abstract

This article introduces the Adaptive Current Tomograph 5 (ACT5) Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) system. ACT5 is a 32 electrode applied-current multiple-source EIT system that can display real-time images of conductivity and susceptivity at 27 frames per second. The adaptive current sources in ACT5 can apply fully programmable current patterns with frequencies varying from 5 kHz to 500 kHz. The system also displays real-time ECG readings during the EIT imaging process. The hardware and software design and specifications are presented, including the current source design, FPGA hardware, safety features, calibration, and shunt impedance measurement. Images of conductivity and susceptivity are presented from ACT5 data collected on tank phantoms and a human subject illustrating the system's ability to provide real-time images of pulsatile perfusion and ECG traces. The portability, high signal-to-noise ratio, and flexibility of applied currents over a wide range of frequencies enable this instrument to be used to obtain useful human subject data with relative clinical ease.