Electrical impedance scanning in breast tumor imaging: correlation with the growth pattern of lesion

摘要

Background This study researched the electric impedance properties of breast tissue and demonstrated the differentcharacteristic of electrical impedance scanning (EIS) images.Methods The impedance character of 40 malignant tumors, 34 benign tumors and some normal breast tissue from 69patients undergoing breast surgery was examined by EIS in vivo measurement and mammography screening, with aseries of frequencies set between 100 Hz-100 kHz in the ex vivo spectroscopy measurement.Results Of the 39 patients with 40 malignant tumors, 24 showed bright spots, 11 showed dark areas in EIS and 5showed no specific image. Of the 30 patients with 34 benign tumors there were almost no specific abnormality shown inthe EIS results. Primary ex vivo spectroscopy experiments showed that the resistivity of various breast tissue take thefollowing pattern: adipose tissue＞cancerous tissue＞mammary gland and benign tumor tissue.Conclusions There are significant differences in the electrical impedance properties between cancerous tissue andhealthy tissue. The impedivity of benign tumor is lower, and is at the same level with that of the mammary glandulartissue. The distinct growth pattern of breast lesions determined the different electrical impedance characteristics in theEIS results.