Direct image reconstruction for 3D electrical resistance tomography by using the factorization method

A direct reconstruction method for 3D electrical resistance tomography was introduced. Compared with the traditional image reconstruction algorithms based on the sensitivity/Jacobian matrix, the conductivity distribution in any part of the three dimensional region of interest can be calculated directly and independently, by using the factorization method. Simulated data for electrical resistance tomography with sixteen electrodes were obtained in three dimensions. The electrodes were equidistantly mounted at a single cross section of the pipe. Neither matrix inversion nor iteration was used in the process of image reconstruction. The reconstructed results validated the feasibility of the method.