Mackle, EC;
Maneas, E;
Little, C;
Carr, E;
Xia, W;
Nikitichev, D;
Rakhit, RD;
... Desjardins, AE; + view all
(2019)
Wall-less vascular poly(vinyl) alcohol gel ultrasound imaging phantoms using 3D printed vessels.
In: Liang, R and Hwang, J and Pfefer, TJ and Vargas, G, (eds.)
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE.
SPIE
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Abstract
Vascular phantoms are crucial tools for clinical training and for calibration and validation of medical imaging systems. With current methods, it can be challenging to replicate anatomically-realistic vasculature. Here, we present a novel method that enables the fabrication of complex vascular phantoms. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in two forms was used to create wall-less vessels and the surrounding tissue mimicking material (TMM). For the latter, PVA cryogel (PVA-c) was used as the TMM, which was made from a solution of PVA (10% by weight), distilled water, and glass spheres for ultrasonic scattering (0.5% by weight). PVA-c is not water soluble, and after a freeze-thaw cycle it is mechanically robust. To form the wall-less vessels, vessel structures were 3D printed in water-soluble PVA and submerged in the aqueous solution of PVA-c. Once the PVA-c had solidified, the 3D printed PVA vessel structures were dissolved in water. Three phantoms were created, as initial demonstrations of the capabilities of this method: a straight vessel, a stenosed (narrowed), and a bifurcated (branched) vessel. Ultrasound images of the phantoms had realistic appearances. We conclude that this method is promising for creating wall-less, anatomically realistic, vascular phantoms.
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