Dynamic functional EIT imaging (df-EIT) - a new concept for monitoring effects on regional lung function induced by respiratory therapy

EIT can potentially offer useful information for monitoring regional lung function directly at the bedside. However it is not evident which presentation of this information is most suitable for monitoring and how this can be efficiently achieved. Using a conventional EIT movie interpretation is inherently difficult due to the continuously changing image. We propose a novel monitoring method of dynamic functional EIT image generation. This method is a modification of methods used for offline generation of functional EIT images for quantification of different ventilatory conditions. In the current work it has been extended to work online on the last acquired images in such a way that the functional image is continuously updated during data acquisition. The advantage is that for steady state physiological condition the dynamic functional EIT image does not alter thus facilitating visual interpretation. Different dynamic functional EIT images acquired under laboratory and clinical conditions in healthy volunteers and mechanically ventilated patient with the Goe-MF II system will be presented and compared with the information obtained from a sequence of single EIT images.