In Vivo Electrical Conductivity Imaging of Animal Tumor Model at 7T using Electrical Properties Tomography

Abstract

Ex vivo studies have shown that various diseases alter the electrical properties of tissues compared to healthy nearby tissues. Therefore, electrical conductivity can be used as a diagnostic parameter for e.g. tumor diagnosis. For in vivo measurements, magnetic resonance electrical properties tomography (MREPT) was used and electrical conductivity was reconstructed from the B1+ phase. The technique was first evaluated using homogeneous and heterogeneous phantoms. Then a mouse with a tumor was scanned and the conductivity is reconstructed from the B1+ phase map. The reconstructed conductivity in the phantom experiments was in good agreement with the target conductivity map and the conductivity map of the animal revealed good agreement with the co-axial probe measurement. Our work confirms the possibility of accurate in vivo conductivity assessment in disease.