Gary J. Saulnier

ACT3: a high-speed, high-precision electrical impedance tomograph

Presents the design, implementation, and performance of Rensselaers third-generation adaptive current tomograph, ACT3. This system uses 32 current sources and 32 phase-sensitive voltmeters to make a 32-electrode system that is capable of applying arbitrary spatial patterns of current. The instrumentation provides 16 b precision on both the current values and the real and reactive voltage readings and can collect the data for a single image in 133 ms. Additionally, the instrument is able to automatically calibrate its voltmeters and current sources and adjust the current source output impedance under computer control. The major system components are discussed in detail and performance results are given. Images obtained using stationary agar targets and a moving pendulum in a phantom as well as in vivo resistivity profiles showing human respiration are shown.<<ETX>>

Current source design for electrical impedance tomography

Questions regarding the feasibility of using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to detect breast cancer may be answered by building a sufficiently precise multiple frequency EIT instrument. Current sources are desirable for this application, yet no current source designs have been reported that have the required precision at the multiple frequencies needed. We have designed an EIT current source using an enhanced Howland topology in parallel with a generalized impedance converter (GIC). This combination allows for nearly independent adjustment of output resistance and output capacitance, resulting in simulated output impedances in excess of 2 Gohms between 100 Hz and 1 MHz. In this paper, the theoretical operation of this current source is explained, and experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of creating a high precision, multiple frequency, capacitance compensated current source for EIT applications.

General ICI self-cancellation scheme for OFDM systems

One of the challenges in designing orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems is their inherent sensitivity to any frequency shift in the signal. A frequency offset between the local oscillators at the transmitter and receiver causes a single frequency shift in the signal, while a time-varying channel can cause a spread of frequency shifts known as the Doppler spread. Frequency shifts ruin the orthogonality of OFDM subcarriers and cause intercarrier interference (ICI); therefore, quickly diminishing the performance of the system. ICI self-cancellation schemes have been proposed to reduce the sensitivity of OFDM systems to frequency shifts. These schemes use signal processing and frequency domain coding to reduce the amount of ICI generated as a result of frequency shifts, with little additional computational complexity. These methods can be used as an alternative to the fine frequency-offset estimation methods to battle oscillator frequency offset or simply be used as an ICI mitigation technique when the system is operating over time-varying channels. We propose a general ICI self-cancellation scheme that can be implemented through windowing at the transmitter and receiver. We show that the previously proposed self-cancellation schemes are equivalent to special cases of this method. Through theoretical analysis of the signal-to-interference ratio and bit-error rate and the use of Monte Carlo simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed system considerably outperforms the existing systems in the presence of frequency offset or time variations in the channel. We consider both coherent and noncoherent systems.

Differential detection of pi /4-shifted-DQPSK for digital cellular radio

The detection of pi /4-shifted-DQPSK modulation using a tangent-type differential detector with an integrated symbol timing and carrier frequency offset correction algorithm is discussed. pi /4-shifted-DQPSK modulation has been proposed for use in a high-capacity, TDMA-based digital cellular system being developed in the US; differential detection could potentially allow the production of low-complexity mobile units. Results obtained using the proposed IS-54 TDMA frame structure for base to mobile transmissions are presented. Theoretical and simulation bit-error-rate (BER) results are presented for static and Rayleigh fading channels. BER results are provided as a function of E/sub b//N/sub 0 /and C/I, where the interferer is a second pi /4-shifted-DQPSK signal. Additional results are provided which show the BER sensitivity to Doppler frequency shifts, time delay spread, and carrier frequency offsets. >

A real-time electrical impedance tomograph

Electrical properties of tissues in the human body can be imaged using a technology known as Electrical Impedance Tomography. In this modality, sinusoidal electrical currents are applied to the body using electrodes attached to the skin, and voltages that are developed on the electrodes are measured. Using these data, a reconstruction algorithm computes the conductivity and permittivity distributions within the body. This paper describes the reconstruction algorithm, image display algorithm, and hardware of a real-time Electrical Impedance Tomograph known as the Real-Time Imaging System. The reconstruction algorithm, executed by a commercially available coprocessor board that resides in a 386-based personal computer, is a modification of the Newtons One Step Error Reconstructor (NOSER) that minimizes algorithm execution time by precomputing many quantities. The image display algorithm, also executed by the coprocessor board, maps the output of the reconstruction algorithm into an image which is displayed using a video graphics board. The architecture of the system and execution times of algorithms implemented by the system are discussed. Using the continuous data acquisition mode of the Real-Time Imaging System, data from the thorax of a normal human subject were collected. Admittivity changes in the chest, as a result of respiration and the cardiac cycle, are presented. Data that were collected from the leg of a normal subject are shown which demonstrate capabilities of the triggered data acquisition mode of the system, allowing data acquisition synchronization with an electrocardiogram.<<ETX>>

An adaptive correlator receiver for direct-sequence spread-spectrum communication

This paper presents a novel receiver for direct sequence spread-spectrum signals over channels containing interference and multipath. The receiver employs an adaptive correlator that jointly detects the transmitted data, removes interference, and compensates for multipath. The optimum correlation vector is derived by determining the Wiener vector that minimizes the mean squared error (MSE) between the transmitted data bit and the correlator output. For an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel, the optimal correlation vector is the spreading sequence used by the transmitter. For interference and multipath channels, the optimal correlation vector will suppress the interference and combine the multipath while optimizing the detection of the transmitted data bit. The paper presents analytical and simulation results which illustrate the bit-error rate (BER) performance of the receiver in multipath and narrowband interference. Additionally, simulation results are presented illustrating the convergence performance of the receiver when the tap weights are adjusted using either the least mean square (LMS) or recursive least squares (RLS) adaptive algorithms.

A Reconstruction Algorithm for Breast Cancer Imaging With Electrical Impedance Tomography in Mammography Geometry

The conductivity and permittivity of breast tumors are known to differ significantly from those of normal breast tissues, and electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is being studied as a modality for breast cancer imaging to exploit these differences. At present, X-ray mammography is the primary standard imaging modality used for breast cancer screening in clinical practice, so it is desirable to study EIT in the geometry of mammography. This paper presents a forward model of a simplified mammography geometry and a reconstruction algorithm for breast tumor imaging using EIT techniques. The mammography geometry is modeled as a rectangular box with electrode arrays on the top and bottom planes. A forward model for the electrical impedance imaging problem is derived for a homogeneous conductivity distribution and is validated by experiment using a phantom tank. A reconstruction algorithm for breast tumor imaging based on a linearization approach and the proposed forward model is presented. It is found that the proposed reconstruction algorithm performs well in the phantom experiment, and that the locations of a 5-mm-cube metal target and a 6-mm-cube agar target could be recovered at a target depth of 15 mm using a 32 electrode system

Applications of the wavelet transform in spread spectrum communications systems

In communication applications, particularly ones using spread spectrum (SS) techniques, transform domain processing can be utilized to suppress undesired interference and, consequently, improve system performance. Since traditional applications requiring transform domain processing perform excision only in the Fourier domain, one of the main objectives of this paper is to extend transform domain processing to include wavelets as the basis functions. Specifically, the use of wavelets in the excision of jamming signals from SS communications will be investigated. Simulations have been performed using several basis functions for an SS receiver with narrowband jamming. Results of this simulation are presented, including BER figures, and compared with conventional Fourier domain processing. Implementation of the exciser using multirate digital filtering filters is also discussed. An intercept receiver which employs wavelet transform domain excision is also described. The receiver detects DS-BPSK spread spectrum signals in the presence of narrow-band interference by employing adaptive interference rejection techniques. The improvement in the system performance over that of conventional radiometric detection only is shown by presenting numerical simulation results of probability of detection versus false alarm as the receiver-operating- characteristic (ROC) for an enhanced total power detector.

Narrow-band interference excision in spread spectrum systems using lapped transforms

In order to mitigate narrow-band interference in spread spectrum communications systems, novel communications receivers incorporating transform domain filtering techniques are designed. In this paper, lapped transforms are used to transform the received data signal to the transform domain wherein adaptive excision is performed. Transform domain detection algorithms, which yield bit decisions based on the remaining signal energy, are analyzed and, together with excision, are employed on a block-by-block basis to suppress single-tone and narrow-band Gaussian interference. System performance is analytically quantified in terms of the overall system bit-error rate (BER). Subsequent results are presented for a variety of channel conditions and compared to those obtained using excision algorithms based on orthonormal block transforms (Medley 1995). These results demonstrate the improved performance and increased robustness with respect to jammer frequency and bandwidth of lapped transform domain excision techniques relative to similar algorithms based on nonweighted block transforms.

An Adaptive Digital Suppression Filter for Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum Communications

This paper describes the structure of a digital implementation of the Widrow-Hoff LMS algorithm which uses a burst processing technique to obtain some hardware simplification. This adaptive system is used to suppress narrow-band interference in a direct-sequence spread-spectrum communication system. Several different narrow-band interferers are considered, and probability of error results are presented for all cases. While, in general, the results show significant improvement in performance when the LMS algorithm is used, certain disadvantages are also present and are discussed in this paper.