An analytical approach for modelling electro-magnetic tomography sensor

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present an analytical model and implementation of a prototype electro-magnetic tomography (EMT) sensor system. Sensitivity maps for an EMT sensor are usually calculated using a numerical approach, such as the finite element method (FEM). While FEM can produce accurate results for any geometrical layout, intensive computation is needed to solve the forward problem and to obtain the sensitivity maps. An alternative approach is to develop an analytical model for the same purpose. Design/methodology/approach - Although the applicability of the analytical model is limited to certain geometrical cases, it provides a much faster means, in particular for calculating sensitivity maps, than FEM. The paper gives brief insight into the calculations and some details on its implementation. The results obtained with the analytical model are compared with FEM. Findings - The results having been obtained with the analytical model and compared with FEM, it has been shown that the differences are as small as 6 per cent and that the prototype EMT sensor system can reconstruct images with an error under 10 per cent (of the object size) in the true position. Originality/value - This is the first time an analytical model has been used to calculate sensitivity maps for EMT. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.