Monitoring Lung Function with Electrical Impedance Tomography in the Intensive Care UnitGlasiele C. Alcala *1, Gamonmas Ekkapat *1,2, Kyle J. Medeiros 1, Caio C. A Morais 1, Yi Xin 1, Valentina Giammatteo 1,3, Giovanni Bruno 1, Alice Nova 1,4, Hatus Wanderley 1, Talisa Bühl 1, Marcus Victor 1,6, Timothy G. Gaulton 1, Carolyn J. La Vita 5, Marcelo B. P. Amato 7, Maurizio Ceradda 1, Lorenzo Berra 1, Roberta Ribeiro De Santis Santiago 1
1Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, 3Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, 4School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 5Department of Respiratory Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 6Electronics Engineering, Aeronautics Institute of Technology, 7Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo
Electrical Impedance Tomography is a non-invasive, radiation-free, real-time pulmonary ventilation monitoring tool. By measuring impedance changes in the thorax, it can visualize the distribution of air on a breath-by-breath basis. Initially intended for ventilation monitoring, electrical impedance tomography can also measure perfusion via intravenous injection of a saline solution.