Development of an US, MRI, and CT imaging compatible realistic mouse phantom for thermal ablation and focused ultrasound evaluation

Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved..

Tissue mimicking phantoms (TMPs) play an essential role in modern biomedical research as cost-effective quality assurance and training tools, simultaneously contributing to the reduction of animal use. Herein, we present the development and evaluation of an anatomically accurate mouse phantom intended for image-guided thermal ablation and Focused Ultrasound (FUS) applications. The proposed mouse model consists of skeletal and soft tissue mimics, whose design was based on the Computed tomography (CT) scans data of a live mouse. Advantageously, it is compatible with US, CT, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The compatibility assessment was focused on the radiological behavior of the phantom due to the lack of relevant literature. The X-ray linear attenuation coefficient of candidate materials was estimated to assess the one that matches best the radiological behavior of living tissues. The bone part was manufactured by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printing using Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) material. For the soft-tissue mimic, a special mold was 3D printed having a cavity with the unique shape of the mouse body and filled with an agar-based silica-doped gel. The mouse phantom accurately matched the size and reproduced the body surface of the imaged mouse. Tissue-equivalency in terms of X-ray attenuation was demonstrated for the agar-based soft-tissue mimic. The phantom demonstrated excellent MRI visibility of the skeletal and soft-tissue mimics. Good radiological contrast between the skeletal and soft-tissue models was also observed in the CT scans. The model was also able to reproduce realistic behavior during trans-skull sonication as proved by thermocouple measurements. Overall, the proposed phantom is inexpensive, ergonomic, and realistic. It could constitute a powerful tool for image-guided thermal ablation and FUS studies in terms of testing and optimizing the performance of relevant equipment and protocols. It also possess great potential for use in transcranial FUS applications, including the emerging topic of FUS-mediated blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:131

Enthalten in:

Ultrasonics - 131(2023) vom: 30. Mai, Seite 106955

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Antoniou, Anastasia [VerfasserIn]
Nikolaou, Anastasia [VerfasserIn]
Georgiou, Andreas [VerfasserIn]
Evripidou, Nikolas [VerfasserIn]
Damianou, Christakis [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

9002-18-0
Agar
CT
Journal Article
MRI
Mouse
Phantom
Ultrasound

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 15.03.2023

Date Revised 15.03.2023

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.ultras.2023.106955

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM353602744