This proposal seeks to continue the design, construction, and testing of a prototype electric current computed tomography (EECT) system. This system applies patterns of electric current through an array of electrodes on the surface of a body, and records the voltages that result on those electrodes. From these measured voltages the system generates and displays an approximate reconstruction of the electrical conductivity within the body. In order to achieve the theoretically predicted maximum signal-to-noise ratio, this system is adaptive in the sense that the successive patterns of current applied to the body are determined from the previous voltage measurements and the optimization-reconstruction algorithm. The immediate impact of this proposed research on engineering and medical imaging will be the demonstration that an adaptive system can be built and made to yield image constructions that achieve the resolution predicted by the PI's theory. The long term impact will be the creation of higher resolution impedance imaging systems than are possible with existing processes. Higher resolution systems will yield more powerful diagnostic tools in medicine, as well as more useful imaging techniques in nondestructive testing, geophysical exploration, and flow through porous media.
