An electrical impedance spectroscopy system for breast cancer detection

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2007:2007:4154-7. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2007.4353251.

Abstract

This paper describes Rensselaer's ACT 4 electrical impedance tomography system which has been developed for breast cancer detection. ACT 4 acquires electrical impedance data at a set of discrete frequencies in the range from 3.33 kHz to 1 MHz and can support up to 72 electrodes. The instrument applies either voltages or currents to all the electrodes simultaneously and measures the resulting currents and/or voltages. Radiolucent electrode arrays are applied to the compression plates of an x-ray mammography system for collecting impedance data in register with x-ray images. The analog front-end electronics are supported with a distributed digital system, including a computer, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). A Microsoft Visual C/C++ -based user interface controls the system operation. The overall system architecture is presented as well as performance results.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Electric Impedance*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted*
  • Mammography / instrumentation
  • Mammography / methods
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*
  • Software*
  • Spectrum Analysis / instrumentation
  • Spectrum Analysis / methods*
  • Tomography / instrumentation
  • Tomography / methods*
  • User-Computer Interface