Hydrogel System with Independent Tailoring of Mechanics, CT, and US Contrasts for Affordable Medical Phantoms.

ABSTRACT: Medical phantoms mimic aspects of procedures like computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US) imaging, and surgical practices. However, the materials for current commercial phantoms are expensive and the fabrication with these is complex and lacks versatility. Therefore, existing material solutions are not suitable for creating patient-specific phantoms. We present a novel and cost-effective material system (utilizing ubiquitous sodium alginate hydrogel and coconut fat) with independently and accurately tailorable CT, US, and mechanical properties. By varying the concentration of alginate, cross-linker, and coconut fat, the radiological parameters and the elastic modulus were adjusted independently in a wide range. The independence was demonstrated by creating phantoms with features hidden i

SUBMITTER: Qiu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11463687 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature