Image reconstruction with different sensitivity maps generated with different background

Most researchers working on electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) use a set of generic sensitivity maps, based on empty background. The aim of this study is to investigate whether or not different sensitivity maps should be used for imaging different dielectric materials. For this purpose, different sensitivity maps are generated by dot multiplication of electric fields with different permittivity backgrounds. To see the effect of different sensitivity maps on image reconstruction, stratified and annular distributions are chosen for simulation with a 12-electrode ECT sensor. The reconstructed images are evaluated by the image error. To verify the simulation results, experiments are carried out. Preliminary results show that the generic sensitivity maps based on empty background are suitable for image reconstruction in most cases.