PurposeElectrical properties of biological tissues are known to be sensitive to physiological and pathological conditions of living organisms. For instance, human breast cancer or liver tumor cells have a significantly higher electrical conductivity than a healthy tissue. The paper aims to the new recently developed magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI) which can be deployed for electrical conductivity imaging of low-conductivity objects. Solving a test problem by using an analytical method is a useful exercise to check the validity of the more complex numerical finite element models. Such test problems are discussed in Chapter 3. The detailed analysis of an electromagnetic induction in low-conductivity objects is very important for the next steps in the tomographic process of image reconstruction. Finally, the image reconstruction examples for object’s complex shapes’ have been analyzed. The Lorentz force divergence reconstruction has been achieved with the help of time reversal algorithm. Design/methodology/approachIn given arrangements the magnetic field and eddy current vectors satisfy the Maxwell partial differential equations. Applying the separation of variables method analytical solutions are obtained for an infinitely long conducting cylindrical segment in transient magnetic field. A special case for such a configuration is an infinitely long cylinder with longitudinal crack. The analytical solutions are compared with those obtained by using numerical procedures. For complex shapes of the object, the MAT-MI images have been calculated with the help of the finite element method and time reversal algorithm. FindingsThe finite element model developed for a MAT-MI forward problem has been validated by analytical formulas. Based on such a confirmation, the MAT-MI complex model has been defined and solved. The conditions allowing successful MAT-MI image reconstruction have been provided taking into account different conductivity distribution. For given object’s parameters, the minimum number of measuring points allowing successful reconstruction has been determined. Originality/valueA simple test example has been proposed for MAT-MI forward problem. Analytical closed-form solutions have been used to check the validity of the made in-house finite element software. More complex forward and inverse problems have been solved using the software.

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Magnetoacoustic Tomography with Magnetic Induction (MAT-MI) is a new hybrid imaging modality especially dedicated for non-invasive electrical conductivity imaging of low-conductivity objects such as e.g. biological tissues. The purpose of the present paper is to determine the optimal scanning step assuring the best quality of image reconstruction. In order to resolve this problem a special image reconstruction quality indicator based on binarization has been applied. Taking into account different numbers of measuring points and various image processing algorithms, the conditions allowing successful image reconstruction have been provided in the paper. Finally, the image reconstruction examples for objects’ complex shapes have been analyzed.

Many imaging techniques are playing an increasingly significant role in clinical diagnosis. In the last years especially noninvasive electrical conductivity imaging methods have been investigated. Magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI) combines favourable contrast of electromagnetic tomography with good spatial resolution of sonography. In this paper a finite element model of MAT-MI forward problem has been presented. The reconstruction of the Lorentz force distribution has been performed with the help of a time reversal algorithm.

This paper is devoted to an analytical approach to the magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI) problem for three-layer low-conductivity objects. For each layer, we determined closed-form analytical expressions for the eddy current density and Lorentz force vectors based on the separation of variables method. Next, the analytical formulas were validated with numerical solutions obtained with the help of the finite element method (FEM). Based on the acoustic dipole radiation theory, the influence of the transducer reception pattern on MAT-MI was investigated. To obtain acoustic wave patterns, as a system transfer function we proposed the Morlet wavelet. Finally, image reconstruction examples for objects of more complex shapes are presented, and the influence of the MAT-MI scanning resolution and the presence of the noise on the image reconstruction quality was studied in detail.