A 3D visualization method for bladder filling examination based on EIT

Comput Math Methods Med. 2012:2012:528096. doi: 10.1155/2012/528096. Epub 2012 Dec 31.

Abstract

As the researches of electric impedance tomography (EIT) applications in medical examinations deepen, we attempt to produce the visualization of 3D images of human bladder. In this paper, a planar electrode array system will be introduced as the measuring platform and a series of feasible methods are proposed to evaluate the simulated volume of bladder to avoid overfilling. The combined regularization algorithm enhances the spatial resolution and presents distinguishable sketch of disturbances from the background, which provides us with reliable data from inverse problem to carry on to the three-dimensional reconstruction. By detecting the edge elements and tracking down the lost information, we extract quantitative morphological features of the object from the noises and background. Preliminary measurements were conducted and the results showed that the proposed algorithm overcomes the defects of holes, protrusions, and debris in reconstruction. In addition, the targets' location in space and roughly volume could be calculated according to the grid of finite element of the model, and this feature was never achievable for the previous 2D imaging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Electric Impedance*
  • Electrodes
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Medical Informatics / methods
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Plethysmography, Impedance / methods
  • Tomography / methods*
  • Urinary Bladder / pathology*
  • Urinary Bladder / physiology*