The Center for Tomography Research Laboratory (CTECH Labs) introduced the latest technology in brain scanning at the 6th International IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference on Neural Engineering at the Sheraton Hotel, San Diego, California on 7 November 2013.
The Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (or the ECVT) was first developed by CTECH Labs to enable 4D brain activity scanning. The technology offers low-cost, radiation-free, instantaneous detection of abnormalities in the brain caused by tumors, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain dysfunctions.
The ECVT sensor system measures the electrical signals of the brain and generates a volumetric map of brain activity, based on a Neural-Network Multi-criteria Optimization Image Reconstruction Technique (NN-MOIRT).
The ECVT is able to detect brain tumors by examining brain functional abnormalities, as the tumors block the propagation of neuro-signals and cause abnormalities in the brain activity image. The ECVT sensor design has been optimized for the detection of brain tumors in different sensitivity regions of the brain.
The ECVT was developed in 2004 by Dr Warsito Purwo Taruno–founder and director of CTECH Labs–in collaboration with Ohio State University.
In the US, the ECVT is currently being used by NASA for experimentation of zero gravity fuel gauging and by the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory for the development of next-generation, clean-energy power plants.
Whereas CT Scans and MRIs observe only the anatomy of the human brain in 2D, ECVT enables doctors to observe the brain’s function in real time, using computerized sensor systems. ECVT is low energy (5 volts) in contrast to CT Scans (requiring hundreds of thousands of volts) and MRIs (requiring 1-3T of magnetic field). ECVT also emits no radiation and requires only an easy-to-operate and non-invasive helmet scanner.
Dr Warsito said, "We are excited to present our latest development on ECVT and hope that, with further research, ECVT will become the next generation of brain scanning."