A preliminary analysis is presented concerning the use of EIT for detecting
impedance inhomogeneities within the human brain. The work to date is cent
red around the monitoring of two distinct impedance variations: those assoc
iated with the application of a carotid clamp during surgery and changes ca
used by the redistribution of blood flow during auditory stimuli. Using the
commercially available Ansoft Maxwell package, a 3D finite element model o
f the human head has been developed to solve the forward problem. The model
is hemispherical in shape and comprises regions of brain, cerebrospinal fl
uid, skull and skin and includes 16 scalp electrodes each of area 1 cm(2).
Results from simulations using the model suggest that an EIT system, incorp
orating diametric current excitation, would require a voltage measurement s
ensitivity of 100-120 dB in order to detect the impedance variations in the
above cases.