Simulation study of electrode size in air-bubble detection for dual-mode integrated electrical resistance and ultrasonic transmission tomography

Optical Multi-Parameter Measuring System for Fluid and Air Bubble Recognition

Detection of air bubbles in fluidic channels plays a fundamental role in all that medical equipment where liquids flow inside patients' blood vessels or bodies. In this work, we propose a multi-parameter sensing system for simultaneous recognition of the fluid, on the basis of its refractive index and of the air bubble transit. The selected optofluidic platform has been designed and studied to be integrated into automatic pumps for the administration of commercial liquid. The sensor includes a laser beam that crosses twice a plastic cuvette, provided with a back mirror, and a position-sensitive detector. The identification of fluids is carried out by measuring the displacement of the output beam on the detector active surface and the detection of single air bubbles can be performed with the same instrumental scheme, exploiting a specific signal analysis. When a bubble, traveling along the cuvette, crosses the readout light beam, radiation is strongly scattered and a characteristic fingerprint shape of the photo-detected signals versus time is clearly observed. Experimental testing proves that air bubbles can be successfully detected and counted. Their traveling speed can be estimated while simultaneously monitoring the refractive index of the fluid.

Review of applications of electrical resistance tomography to chemical engineering

In spite of decades of study and investigation, the research on tomography and electrical resistance tomography (ERT) in particular, remains to be focus of immense scientific significance. ERT provides the ability to measure conductivity distribution inside a process plant and delivers time evolving multidimensional information. Such important and otherwise inaccessible information enhances critical process knowledge whilst improving the design and function of the process equipment. ERT has been employed in a variety of fields including chemical engineering. This paper reviews previous research carried out on the application of ERT within the chemical engineering arena. The applications are classified based on the objective of ERT measurements, the unit operations ERT has been utilized on, the media under examination, and also other technologies and data processing techniques used in combination with ERT. The objective of this taxonomy is to offer the reader with a broad insight into the current situation of ERT related research and developed applications in the chemical engineering field and to assist in the identification of research gaps for future investigation.

Complementary use of priors for pulmonary imaging with electrical impedance and ultrasound computed tomography

For medical professionals caring for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure, the ability to quickly and safely obtain images of pulmonary function at the patient's bedside would be highly desirable. Such images could be used to provide early warnings of developing pulmonary pathologies in real time, thereby reducing the incidence of complications and improving patient outcomes. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and low-frequency ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) are two imaging techniques with the potential to provide real-time non-ionizing pulmonary monitoring in the ICU setting, and each method has its own unique advantages as well as drawbacks. In this work, we describe a new algorithm for a system in which the strengths of the two modalities are combined in a complementary fashion. Specifically, preliminary reconstructions from each modality are used as priors to stabilize subsequent reconstructions, providing improved spatial resolution, sharper organ boundaries, and enhanced appearance of pathologies and other features. Results are validated using three numerically simulated thoracic phantoms representing pulmonary pathologies.