Continuous and Discrete Inverse Conductivity Problems

Tomography using CT scans and MRI scans is now well-known as a medical diagnostic tool which allows for detection of tumors and other abnormalities in a noninvasive way, providing very detailed images of the inside of the body using low dosage X-rays and magnetic fields. They have both also been used for determination of material defects in moderate size objects. In medical and other applications they complement conventional tomography. There are many situations where one wants to monitor the electrical conductivity of different portions of an object, for instance, to find out whether a metal object, possibly large, has invisible cracks. This kind of tomography, usually called Electrical Impedance Tomography or EIT, has also medical applications like monitoring of blood flow. While CT and MRI are related to Euclidean geometry, EIT is closely related to hyperbolic geometry. A question that has arisen in the recent past is whether there is similar “tomographic” method to monitor the “health” of networks. Our objective is to explain how EIT ideas can in fact effectively be used in this context.