Objective: To date, measurement of conductivity and relative permittivity properties of anisotropic biological tissues using electrical impedance myography (EIM) is only possible through an invasive ex vivo biopsy procedure. Here, we present a novel forward and inverse theoretical modeling framework to estimate these properties combining surface and needle EIM measurements. Methods: The framework presented models the electrical potential distribution within a monodomain, homogeneous, and three-dimensional anisotropic tissue. Finite element method simulations and tongue experimental results verify the validity of our method to reverse-engineer three-dimensional conductivity and relative permittivity properties from EIM measurements. Results: FEM-based simulations confirm the validity of our analytical framework, with relative errors between analytical predictions and simulations smaller than 0.12% and 2.6% in a cuboid and tongue model, respectively. Experimental results confirm qualitative differences in the conductivity and the relative permittivity properties in x, y, and z directions. Conclusion: Our methodology enables EIM technology to reverse- engineer the anisotropic tongue tissue conductivity and relative permittivity properties thus unfolding full forward and inverse EIM predictability capabilities. Significance: This new method of evaluating anisotropic tongue tissue will lead to a deeper understanding of the role of biology necessary for the development of new EIM tools and approaches for tongue health measurement and monitoring.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.