A physical breast phantom for 2D and 3D x-ray imaging made through inkjet printing

Ikejimba, Lynda C.; Graff, Christian; Rosenthal, Shani; Badal, Andreu; Ghammraoui, Bahaa; Lo, Joseph Y.; Glick, Stephen J.

doi:10.1117/12.2255016

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…The goal of this work was to generate realistic anthropomorphic phantoms for 2D imaging applications that are easily customizable, less bulky, and less costly relative to fully 3D phantoms. The similarity of the x‐ray of the printed neonate phantom to that of the patient radiograph confirms the potential of consumer‐grade inkjet printers toward this goal, consistent with what was achieved by other research groups 14–21 …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…In this work, a novel framework was developed to facilitate the process of generating phantoms for 2D x‐ray imaging applications. All previous implementations of this technique directly printed gray‐scale images which requires a time‐consuming and complex calibration procedure to map image gray values to iodine density 14–21 . The new framework presented here is based on pure black printing, requiring only a single‐value calibration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The similarity of the x-ray of the printed neonate phantom to that of the patient radiograph confirms the potential of consumer-grade inkjet printers toward this goal, consistent with what was achieved by other research groups. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In this work, a novel framework was developed to facilitate the process of generating phantoms for 2D x-ray imaging applications. All previous implementations of this technique directly printed gray-scale images which requires a time-consuming and complex calibration procedure to map image gray values to iodine density.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All previous implementations of this technique directly printed gray-scale images which requires a time-consuming and complex calibration procedure to map image gray values to iodine density. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] The new framework presented here is based on pure black printing, requiring only a single-value calibration. The resulting phantom was lightweight, 25 g, and compact, consisting of a stack of 36 printed pages, that can be clipped together to prevent pages shifting and inserted into a plastic pouch for protection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a neonate X‐ray phantom for 2D imaging applications using single‐tone inkjet printing

et al. 2021

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Purpose Inkjet printers can be used to fabricate anthropomorphic phantoms by the use of iodine‐doped ink. However, challenges persist in implementing this technique. The calibration from grayscale to ink density is complex and time‐consuming. The purpose of this work is to develop a printing methodology that requires a simpler calibration and is less dependent on printer characteristics to produce the desired range of x‐ray attenuation values. Methods Conventional grayscale printing was substituted by single‐tone printing; that is, the superposition of pure black layers of iodinated ink. Printing was performed with a consumer‐grade inkjet printer using ink made of potassium‐iodide (KI) dissolved in water at 1 g/ml. A calibration for the attenuation of ink was measured using a commercial x‐ray system at 70 kVp. A neonate radiograph obtained at 70 kVp served as an anatomical model. The attenuation map of the neonate radiograph was processed into a series of single‐tone images. Single‐tone images were printed, stacked, and imaged at 70 kVp. The phantom was evaluated by comparing attenuation values between the printed phantom and the original radiograph; attenuation maps were compared using the structural similarity index measure (SSIM), while attenuation histograms were compared using the Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergence. A region of interest (ROI)‐based analysis was also performed, where the attenuation distribution within given ROIs was compared between phantom and patient. The phantom sharpness was evaluated in terms of modulation transfer function (MTF) estimates and signal spread profiles of high spatial resolution features in the image. Results The printed phantom required 36 pages. The printing queue was automated and it took about 2 h to print the phantom. The radiograph of the printed phantom demonstrated a close resemblance to the original neonate radiograph. The SSIM of the phantom with respect to that of the patient was 0.53. Both patient and phantom attenuation histograms followed similar distributions, and the KL divergence between such histograms was 0.20. The ROI‐based analysis showed that the largest deviations from patient attenuation values were observed at the higher and lower ends of the attenuation range. The limiting resolution of the proposed methodology was about 1 mm. Conclusion A methodology to generate a neonate phantom for 2D imaging applications, using single‐tone printing, was developed. This method only requires a single‐value calibration and required less than 2 h to print a complete phantom.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a neonate X‐ray phantom for 2D imaging applications using single‐tone inkjet printing

et al. 2021

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“…Further research is being conducted to investigate the insertion of signals (i.e., masses and microcalcifications) into the phantom . Microcalcifications have been modeled using either calcium hydroxyapatite crystals or soda lime‐coated glass microspheres ranging in diameter from 150 to 260 μm, and realistically shaped masses are printed using ink doped with potassium iodine.…”

Section: Physical Anthropomorphic Phantomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in digital and physical anthropomorphic breast phantoms for x‐ray imaging

Glick

Ikejimba

2018

Medical Physics

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Purpose: With the advent of three-dimensional (3D) breast imaging modalities such as digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and dedicated breast CT (bCT), research into new anthropomorphic breast phantoms has accelerated. These breast phantoms are important for the optimization of new breast imaging systems, assessing new regulatory submissions to prove safety and effectiveness, and for developing new approaches to acceptance and constancy testing of 3D breast imaging systems. This paper provides a review of current research investigating both digital and physical breast phantom development for use in x-ray based imaging. Methods: Two approaches for designing anthropomorphic, digital breast phantoms are discussed, procedural model-based phantom generation, where breast features are expressed using mathematical models, and patient-based generation, where breast structures from tissue specimens or patient-based breast MR or CT volumes are segmented. Following this discussion, a review of physical anthropomorphic phantoms is given, with emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages present with each approach. Conclusions: This paper provides a summary of the state-of-the-art in anthropomorphic breast phantom development for x-ray breast imaging. The primary advantage of model-based digital phantoms is that an unlimited number of phantoms with varying size, shape, and density can be generated. Current research on model-based breast phantoms is producing more and more realistic breast models; however, they probably are not yet able to pass the so-called "fool the radiologist" visualization test. Empirical patient-based breast phantoms are typically based on clinical breast CT data and look more realistic. However, clinical breast CT images have limited spatial resolution and thus do not always portray the finer details in the breast. A number of innovative solutions have been proposed for fabricating physical anthropomorphic breast phantoms based on digital phantom models; however, a number of challenges remain, including realistic modeling of x-ray attenuation properties and accurately representing high-frequency structures within breast. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA [https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.13110]

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A voxel-by-voxel method for mixing two filaments during a 3D printing process for soft-tissue replication in an anthropomorphic breast phantom

Okkalidis¹,

Bliznakova²

2022

Phys. Med. Biol.

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Objective: In this study, a novel voxel-by-voxel mixing method is presented, according to which two filaments of different material are combined during the 3D printing process. Approach: In our approach, two types of filaments were used for the replication of soft-tissues, a polylactic acid (PLA) filament and a polypropylene (PP) filament. A custom-made software was used, while a series of breast patient CT scan images were directly associated to the 3D printing process. Each phantom´s layer was printed twice, once with the PLA filament and a second time with the PP filament. For each material, the filament extrusion rate was controlled voxel-by-voxel and was based on the HU of the imported CT images. The phantom was scanned at clinical CT, breast tomosynthesis and Micro CT facilities, as the major processing was performed on data from the CT. A side by side comparison between patient´s and phantom´s CT slices by means of profile and histogram comparison was accomplished. Further, in case of profile comparison, the Pearson´s coefficients were calculated. Main results: The visual assessment of the distribution of the glandular tissue in the CT slices of the printed breast anatomy showed high degree of radiological similarity to the corresponding patient´s glandular distribution. The profile plots´ comparison showed that the Hounsfield Units (HU) of the replicated and original patient soft tissues match adequately. In overall, the Pearson´s coefficients were above 0.91, suggesting a close match of the CT images of the phantom with those of the patient. The overall HU were close in terms of HU ranges. The HU mean, median and standard deviation of the original and the phantom CT slices were -149, -167, ±65, and -121, -130, ±91, respectively. Significance: The results suggest that the proposed methodology is appropriate for manufacturing of anthropomorphic soft tissue phantoms for x-ray imaging and dosimetry purposes, since it may offer an accurate replication of these tissues.

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A physical breast phantom for 2D and 3D x-ray imaging made through inkjet printing

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Development of a neonate X‐ray phantom for 2D imaging applications using single‐tone inkjet printing

Development of a neonate X‐ray phantom for 2D imaging applications using single‐tone inkjet printing

Advances in digital and physical anthropomorphic breast phantoms for x‐ray imaging

A voxel-by-voxel method for mixing two filaments during a 3D printing process for soft-tissue replication in an anthropomorphic breast phantom

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