Calculation of expected pit volumes and exsolved metal particle sizesThe maximum radius, R (nm), of a particle forming sub-surface composed of Ni exsolved from a rectangular parallelepiped perovskite of area A e (nm 2 ) and depth d e (nm), under the constraint that d e /2 < 3 R (required for the particle to escape the bulk; see modeling section) can be calculated using the following equation:

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a recently developed medical imaging method which has the potential to produce images of fast neuronal depolarization in the brain. Previous modelling suggested that applied current needed to be below 100 Hz but the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) recorded with scalp electrodes during evoked responses was too low to permit imaging. A novel method in which contemporaneous evoked potentials are subtracted is presented with current applied at 225 Hz to cerebral cortex during evoked activity; although the signal is smaller than at DC by about 10×, the principal noise from the EEG is reduced by about 1000×, resulting in an improved SNR. It was validated with recording of compound action potentials in crab walking leg nerve where peak changes of -0.2% at 125 and 175 Hz tallied with biophysical modelling. In recording from rat cerebral cortex during somatosensory evoked responses, peak impedance decreases of -0.07 ± 0.006% (mean ± SE) with a SNR of >50 could be recorded at 225 Hz. This method provides a reproducible and artefact free means for recording resistance changes during neuronal activity which could form the basis for imaging fast neural activity in the brain.

We describe the development of a multi-frequency electrical impedance tomography (EIT) system (KHU Mark1) with a single balanced current source and multiple voltmeters. It was primarily designed for imaging brain function with a flexible strategy for addressing electrodes and a frequency range from 10 Hz-500 kHz. The maximal number of voltmeters is 64, and all of them can simultaneously acquire and demodulate voltage signals. Each voltmeter measures a differential voltage between a pair of electrodes. All voltmeters are configured in a radially symmetric architecture in order to optimize the routing of wires and minimize cross-talk. We adopted several techniques from existing EIT systems including digital waveform generation, a Howland current generator with a generalized impedance converter (GIC), digital phase-sensitive demodulation and tri-axial cables. New features of the KHU Mark1 system include multiple GIC circuits to maximize the output impedance of the current source at multiple frequencies. The voltmeter employs contact impedance measurements, data overflow detection, spike noise rejection, automatic gain control and programmable data averaging. The KHU Mark1 system measures both in-phase and quadrature components of trans-impedances. By using a script file describing an operating mode, the system setup can be easily changed. The performance of the developed multi-frequency EIT system was evaluated in terms of a common-mode rejection ratio, signal-to-noise ratio, linearity error and reciprocity error. Time-difference and frequency-difference images of a saline phantom with a banana object are presented showing a frequency-dependent complex conductivity of the banana. Future design of a more innovative system is suggested including miniaturization and wireless techniques.

Validation and interpretation of reconstructed images using a multi-frequency electrical impedance tomography (mfEIT) requires a conductivity phantom including imaging objects with known complex conductivity (sigma + iomegaepsilon) spectra. We describe imaging experiments using the recently developed mfEIT system called the KHU Mark1 with the frequency range of 10 Hz to 500 kHz. Using a bio-impedance spectroscopy (BIS) system, we first measured complex conductivity spectra of different imaging objects including saline, agar, polyacrylamide, TX151, animal hide gelatin, banana and cucumber. Based on an analysis of how conductivity and permittivity affect measured complex boundary voltages, we suggested a new complex version of a multi-frequency time-difference image reconstruction algorithm. Imaging experiments were conducted to produce time-difference images of the objects at multiple frequencies using the proposed algorithm. Images of a conductor (stainless steel) and an insulator (acrylic plastic) were used to set a common scale bar to display all images. Comparing reconstructed time-difference images at multiple frequencies with measured complex conductivity spectra, we found that they showed an overall similarity in terms of changes in complex conductivity values with respect to frequency. However, primarily due to the limitation of the difference imaging algorithm, we suggest that multi-frequency time-difference images must be interpreted in terms of relative contrast changes with respect to frequency. We propose further imaging studies using biological tissues of known complex conductivity spectra and using human subjects to find clinical applications of the mfEIT system.

Magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) aims at producing high-resolution cross-sectional conductivity images of an electrically conducting object such as the human body. Following numerous phantom imaging experiments, the most recent study demonstrated successful conductivity image reconstructions of postmortem canine brains using a 3 T MREIT system with 40 mA imaging currents. Here, we report the results of in vivo animal imaging experiments using 5 mA imaging currents. To investigate any change of electrical conductivity due to brain ischemia, canine brains having a regional ischemic model were scanned along with separate scans of canine brains having no disease model. Reconstructed multi-slice conductivity images of in vivo canine brains with a pixel size of 1.4 mm showed a clear contrast between white and gray matter and also between normal and ischemic regions. We found that the conductivity value of an ischemic region decreased by about 10-14%. In a postmortem brain, conductivity values of white and gray matter decreased by about 4-8% compared to those in a live brain. Accumulating more experience of in vivo animal imaging experiments, we plan to move to human experiments. One of the important goals of our future work is the reduction of the imaging current to a level that a human subject can tolerate. The ability to acquire high-resolution conductivity images will find numerous clinical applications not supported by other medical imaging modalities. Potential applications in biology, chemistry and material science are also expected.