Abstract
The electrical resistivity of lung tissue can be related to the structure and composition of the tissue and also to the air content. Conditions such as pulmonary oedema and emphysema have been shown to change lung resistivity. However, direct access to the lungs to enable resistivity to be measured is very difficult. We have developed a new method of using electrical impedance tomographic (EIT) measurements on a group of 142 normal neonates to determine the absolute resistivity of lung tissue. The methodology involves comparing the measured EIT data with that from a finite difference model of the thorax in which lung tissue resistivity can be changed. A mean value of 5.7 ± 1.7Ωm was found over the frequency range 4kHz to 813kHz. This value is lower than that usually given for adult lung tissue but consistent with the literature on the composition of the neonatal lung and with structural modelling.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barber, D. C., andSeagar, A. D. (1987): ‘Fast reconstruction of resistance mages’,Clin. Phys. Physiol. Meas.,8, pp. 47–54
Bardin, V., Cherepinin, V., Karpov, A., Korjenevsky, A., Kornienko, V., Kultyasov, Y., andMarushkov, V. (2001): ‘Static EIT-images of new-borns’ lungs. Preliminary results’. Proceedings of XI International Conference on Electrical Bioimpedance. Oslo, June 2001, pp. 457–460
Boyd, E. (1962): ‘Growth, including reproduction and morphological development’ inAltman andDittmer (Eds.): ‘Biological handbooks’ (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Washington), pp. 346–348
Brown, B. H., Flewelling, R., Griffiths, H., Harris, N. D., Leathard, A. D., Lu, L., Morice, A. H., Neufeldt, G. R., Nopp, P., andWang, W. (1966): ‘EITS changes following oleic acid induced lung water’,Physiol. Meas.,17, pp. 117–130
Campbell, J. H., Harris, N. D., Zhang, F. Morice, A. H., andBrown, B. H. (1993): ‘The monitoring of changes in intrathoracic fluid volume with the Sheffield EIT system’ inHolder, D.S. (Ed.): ‘Clinical and physiological applications of EIT’ (UCL Press), pp. 243–248
Cherepenin, V., Karpov, A., Korjenevsky, A., Kornienko, V., Kultiasov, Yu., Mazaletskaya, A., andMazourov, D. (2002): ‘Preliminary static EIT images of the thorax in health and disease’,Physiol. Meas.,23, pp. 33–41
Duck, F. A. (1990): ‘Physical properties of tissue: a comprehensive reference book’ (Academic Press), p. 346
Frerichs, I., Hahn, G., Schiffmann, H., Berger, C., andHellige, G. (1999): ‘Monitoting regional lung ventilation by functional electrical impedance tomograhy during assisted ventilation’,Ann. NY Acad. Sciences,873, pp. 493–505
Hahn, G. M., Kenahan, A., Martinez, A., Pounds, D., andPrionas, S. (1980): ‘Some heat transfer problems associated with heating by ultrasound, microwaves or radio frequency’,Ann. NY Acad. Sci.,335, pp. 327–346
Hampshire, A. R. (1997): ‘Neonatal electrical impedance tomographic spectroscopy’. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield
Harris, N. D. (1991): ‘Applications of EIT in respiratory medicine’. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield
Holder, D. S., andTemple, A. J. (1993): ‘Effectiveness of the Sheffield EIT system in distinguishing patients with pulmonary pathology from a series of normal subjects’ inHolder, D. S. (Ed.): ‘Clinical and physiological applications of EIT’ (UCL Press), pp. 277–298
Newell, J. C., Blue, R. S., Isaacson, D., Saulnier, G. J., andRoss, A. S. (2002): ‘Phasic three-dimensional impedance imaging of cardiac activity’,Physiol. Meas.,23, pp. 203–209
Noble, T. J., Morice, A. H., Channer, K. S., Milnes, P., Harris, N. D., andBrown, B. H. (1999): ‘Monitoring patients with left ventricular failure by electrical impedance tomography’,European J. Heart Failure,1, pp. 379–384
Nopp, P., Harris, N. D., Zhao, T. X., andBrown, B. H. (1997): ‘Model for the dielectric properties of human lung tissue against frequency and air content’,Med. Biol. Eng. Comp.,35, pp. 695–702
Primhak, R. A., Brown, B. H., Jackson, M. J., Milnes, P., andSmallwood, R. H. (2001). ‘Maturational changes in lung impedance’. Proceedings of Xth International Conference on Electrical Bio-impedance, Oslo, pp. 297–300
Schibler, A., andHenning, R. (2001): ‘Measurement of functional residual capacity in rabbits and children using an ultrasonic flow meter’,Pediatric Research,49, pp. 581–588
Smallwood, R. H., Hampshire, A. R., Brown, B. H., Primhak, R. A., Marven, S., andNopp, P. (1999): ‘A comparison of neonatal and adult lung impedances derived from EIT images’,Physiol. Meas.,20, pp. 401–413
Surowiec, A., Stuchley, S. S., Keaney, M., andSwarup, A. (1987): ‘Dielectric polarisation of animal lung at radio frequences’,IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng.,34, pp. 62–67
Wilson, A. J., Milnes, P., Waterworth, A., andBrown, B. H. (2001): ‘MK3.5 a modular, multi-frequency successor to the Mk3a EIS/EIT system’,Physiol. Meas.,22, pp. 49–54
Witsoe, D. A., andKinnen, E. (1967): ‘Electrical resistivity of lung at 100 kHz’,Med. Biol. Eng. Comput.,5, pp. 239–247
Zeltner, T. B., Caduff, J. H., Gher, P., Pfenninger, J., andBurri, P. H. (1987): ‘The postnatal development and growth of the human lung. I: Morphometry’,Resp. Physiol.,67, pp. 247–267
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brown, B.H., Primhak, R.A., Smallwood, R.H. et al. Neonatal lungs-can absolute lung resistivity be determined non-invasively?. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 40, 388–394 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02345070
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02345070