Updated consensus terminology and definitions in chest electrical impedance tomography.

DOI
Publisher DOI
PubMed ID
42456753
Abstract
Functional chest imaging using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has experienced an impressive technological development since its invention in the early eighties of the last century. The number of experimental and clinical studies using this technology is continuously rising, and the increasing availability of devices approved for clinical use accelerates and diversifies its applications in patients. EIT is predominantly used in intensive care units but its utilisation in operating theatres, delivery rooms, pulmonary function laboratories and even remote outpatient settings is growing. Chest EIT is mainly applied to determine the regional distribution of pulmonary ventilation, aeration changes, and respiratory system mechanics both during mechanical ventilation and spontaneous breathing, but an increase in the use of chest EIT for imaging lung perfusion and cardiac action has recently been noted. The ongoing innovation of both EIT hardware and software, the new application fields, and the rising number of users of this technology require consensus on EIT terminology and definitions. This secures a common framework for conducting EIT studies, patient examinations and guarantees unified analysis of EIT data, documentation, reporting and comparability of findings. Our article provides a comprehensive consensus document on EIT terminology and definitions generated by EIT experts of the international TRanslational EIT development stuDy (TREND) group in cooperation with the producers of EIT technology. It not only updates and extends the first consensus EIT terminology published in 2017, but also offers a new taxonomy of EIT measures, systematically based on the quantification of ventilation-related, heartbeat-related, and contrast-enhanced EIT signals. Thanks to its clear structure with tabulated recommended EIT terms, abbreviations, comprehensible explanations, notes, extensive literature sources and parameter calculations, EIT researchers, clinical users and manufacturers may use this document as a reference source of information relevant for chest EIT.
Date Issued
2026-07-15
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Subjects
EIT
•
functional lung imaging
•
lung perfusion
•
pulmonary function testing
•
ventilation distribution
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Frerichs, Inéz
Amato, Marcelo
Bellani, Giacomo
Camporota, Luigi
Gamelin, John
Holzhacker, Rafael
Kallio, Merja
Spadaro, Savino
Wrigge, Hermann
Adler, Andy
Böhm, Stephan
Braun, Fabian
Brochard, Laurent
He, Huaiwu
Jonkman, Annemijn H
Leonhardt, Steffen
Mauri, Tommaso
Muders, Thomas
Ruegger, Christoph
Shono, Atsuko
Suarez Sipmann, Fernando
Teschner, Eckhard
Tingay, David G
van Kaam, Anton
Yoshida, Takeshi
Zhao, Zhanqi
Additional Credits
Journal
Physiological Measurement
Publisher
IOP Publishing
ISSN
1361-6579
0967-3334
Access(Rights)
open.access
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