The comparison of measured impedance of the bladder tissue with the computational modeling results

Abstract

Introduction: The electrical impedance spectroscopy technique can be used to measure the electrical impedance of the human bladder tissue, for differentiating pathological changes in the urothelium. Methods: In this study, the electrical impedance spectroscopy technique and then, a numerical technique, finite element analysis (FEA) were used to model the electrical properties of this tissue to predict the impedance spectrum of the normal and malignant areas of this organ. Results: After determining and comparing the modeled data with the experimental results, it is believed that there are some factors that may affect the measurement results. Thus, the effect of inflammation, edema, changes in the applied pressure over the probe and the distensible property of the bladder tissue were considered. Furthermore, the current distribution inside the human bladder tissue was modeled in normal and malignant cases using the FEA. This model results showed that very little of the current actually flows through the urothelium and much of the injected current flows through the connective tissue beneath the urothelium. Conclusion: The results of the models do not explain the measurements results. In conclusion, there are many factors, which may account for discrepancies between the measured and modeled data.

Keywords: Bladder, Computational modeling, Electrical impedance measurement, Normal, Malignant