A new approach to current density impedance imaging.

Current density impedance imaging (CDII) is a new impedance imaging technique that utilizes current density vector measurements made using magnetic resonance imager (MRI). CDII provides a simple mathematical expression for the gradient of the logarithm of conductivity, nablaln(sigma), at each point in a region where two current density vector has been measured. From the images of the gradient of the logarithm of conductivity, ln(sigma) can be reconstructed through integration and of sigma by a priori knowledge of the conductivity at a single point in the object. The CDII technique was tested on a conductivity phantom made from tissue mimicking gel. The results showed accurate reconstruction of the gel conductivity from two current density measurements. This study, for the first time, has demonstrated a local reconstruction technique to calculate sample conductivity inside the phantom noninvasively.