Experimental stand for electrical impedance tomography of newborn lungs

The article presents the results of the development of an experimental setup for electrical impedance tomography of the lungs of newborns and a sealed simplified physical model of the neonatal mediastinum and a neonatal electrode system included in it. It consists of seven main devices that allow simulating conditions close to clinical ones. The sealed simplified physical model of the mediastinum (phantom) is made taking into account the possibility of placing a newborn doll; the design is made using 3D printing technologies. It is equipped with a system for controlled air filling of the lung areas, as well as drainage for removing excess conductive medium from the phantom. Three rows of electrodes are provided, providing the possibility of conducting experiments on simulating global and regional ventilation with different locations of the electrode system (row). A neonatal electrode system with metal electrodes on a flexible fabric base was developed and manufactured for use as part of the setup. The elastic base allows adjusting to the location of the electrodes on the phantom. Experimental studies performed using the ventilator for respiratory volumes from 2 to 60 ml confirmed the operability of the stand as a whole, namely the sensitivity of the phantom and neonatal electrode system to changes in air volumes, as well as sensitivity to neonatal ventilation modes on the ventilator. The developed solutions allow for research and testing of new algorithms and methods in the field of electrical impedance tomography of neonatal lungs, as well as use for diagnosing disorders of external respiration in neonatology.

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