Matella M, Hunter K, Balasubramanian S, Walker D C
Computer Science DepartmentUniversity of Sheffield S1 4DP Sheffield U.K.
InsigneoInstitute for in silico Medicine S1 3JD Sheffield U.K.
IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol. 2023 May 11;5:661-669. doi: 10.1109/OJEMB.2023.3275536. eCollection 2024.
Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been suggested as a possible technique to differentiate between thyroid and parathyroid tissue during surgery. This study aims to explore this potential using computational models to simulate the impedance spectra of these tissues, and examine how they are influenced by specific differences in tissue composition and morphology. Finite element models of thyroid and parathyroid tissues at multiple scales were created, and simulated spectra were compared to existing data collected using ZedScan probe during surgery. Geometrical and material properties were varied in a local sensitivity study to assess their relative influence. Both simulated and measured EIS parathyroid spectra show a higher [Formula: see text] dispersion frequency relative to thyroid. However, impedances exhibit overlap at frequencies below 100 kHz. A computational sensitivity study identified uncertainties in extracellular space dimensions, and properties of colloid and fascia compartments as having a significant effect on simulated impedance spectra characteristics. We have demonstrated the utility of our multiscale model in simulating impedance spectra and providing insight into their sensitivity to variations in tissue features. Our results suggest that distinguishing between the thyroid and parathyroid spectra is challenging, but could be improved by constraining the properties of colloid and fascia through further computational or experimental research.
电阻抗谱（EIS）已被提议作为一种在手术过程中区分甲状腺组织和甲状旁腺组织的可能技术。本研究旨在利用计算模型模拟这些组织的阻抗谱来探索这种潜力，并研究它们如何受到组织组成和形态的特定差异的影响。创建了多个尺度的甲状腺和甲状旁腺组织的有限元模型，并将模拟谱与手术期间使用ZedScan探头收集的现有数据进行比较。在局部敏感性研究中改变几何和材料属性以评估它们的相对影响。模拟和测量的EIS甲状旁腺谱相对于甲状腺均显示出更高的[公式：见原文]色散频率。然而，在低于100 kHz的频率下阻抗存在重叠。一项计算敏感性研究确定细胞外空间尺寸以及胶体和筋膜隔室的属性的不确定性对模拟阻抗谱特征有显著影响。我们已经证明了我们的多尺度模型在模拟阻抗谱以及深入了解其对组织特征变化的敏感性方面的实用性。我们的结果表明区分甲状腺谱和甲状旁腺谱具有挑战性，但可以通过进一步的计算或实验研究来约束胶体和筋膜的属性来加以改进。
