Phantoms are objects designed to mimic the properties of human tissue and are used to study and develop new medical imaging and treatment options. The development of phantoms that accurately and reliably mimic the properties of human tissue is extremely important in the field of MRgFUS. Phantoms are used in quality assurance and validation of new imaging and treatment techniques. A variety of commercial phantoms for use with ultrasound or MR are available, however we believe that fabricating phantoms with custom shapes and tissue properties is essential to our research process. We have developed a methodology for fabricating gelatin phantoms that successfully mimic many of the acoustic, thermal and mechanical properties of human tissue. These phantoms are relatively simple to make and easily modifiable which allows them to be used for a variety of experiments.
Related Publications
Farrer, A. I., Odeen, H., de Bever, J., Coats, B., Parker, D. L., Payne, A., & Christensen, D. A. (2015). Characterization and evaluation of tissue-mimicking gelatin phantoms for use with MRgFUS. J Ther Ultrasound, 3, 9. doi:10.1186/s40349-015-0030-y
Payne, A., Mattingly, M., Shelkey, J., Scott, E., & Roemer, R. (2001). A dynamic two-dimensional phantom for ultrasound hyperthermia controller testing. Int J Hyperthermia, 17(2), 143-159
Payne, A. H., Goodrich, K. C., Kholmovski, E. G., Roemer, R. B., & Parker, D. L. (2008). Isolated kidney phantom for development of biothermal vascular models with application to high intensity focused ultrasound therapy. Medical physics, 35(10), 4426-4434. doi:10.1118/1.297522
Hansen M, Christensen D, Payne A (2021). Experimental validation of acoustic and thermal modeling in heterogeneous phantoms using the hybrid angular spectrum method. Int J Hyperthermia, 38(1), 1617-1626.
Hofstetter LW, Fausett L, Mueller A, Odéen H, Payne A, Christensen DA, Parker DL (2020). Development and characterization of a tissue mimicking psyllium husk gelatin phantom for ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Int J Hyperthermia, 37(1), 283-290.