Three-dimensional fuse deposition modeling of tissue-simulating phantom for biomedical optical imaging

Abstract

Abstract. Biomedical optical devices are widely used for clinical detection of various tissue anomalies. However, optical measurements have limited accuracy and traceability, partially owing to the lack of effective calibration methods that simulate the actual tissue conditions. To facilitate standardized calibration and performance evaluation of medical optical devices, we develop a three-dimensional fuse deposition modeling (FDM) technique for freeform fabrication of tissue-simulating phantoms. The FDM system uses transparent gel wax as the base material, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) powder as the scattering ingredient, and graphite powder as the absorption ingredient. The ingredients are preheated, mixed, and deposited at the designated ratios layerby-layer to simulate tissue structural and optical heterogeneities. By printing the sections of human brain model based on magnetic resonance images, we demonstrate the capability for simulating tissue structural heterogeneities. By measuring optical properties of multilayered phantoms and comparing with numerical simulation, we demonstrate the feasibility for simulating tissue optical properties. By creating a rat head phantom with embedded vasculature, we demonstrate the potential for mimicking physiologic processes of a living system. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Anatomically realistic ultrasound phantoms using gel wax with 3D printed moulds

“…Direct printing of gel wax could be useful to create structures with greater 3D complexity. One recent step in this direction was provided by Dong et al ( 2015 ), who developed a fuse deposition modelling system to fabricate 3D heterogeneous phantoms for optical imaging. Gel wax was mixed with additives and directly printed using a custom print head with multiple channels and an embedded mixing device.…”

Gel wax-based tissue-mimicking phantoms for multispectral photoacoustic imaging

“…To minimise bubble formation, mixing and pouring of gel wax compositions within low pressure chambers could be advantageous. For more anatomical realism, wall-less, fluid-filled vessels could be used [ 32 , 43 ], osseous structures could be incorporated with 3D printed polymers [ 44 ], and gel wax could even be directly 3D printed [ 31 ].…”

“…The IAD algorithm iteratively searches for a solution to the radiative transfer equation (RTE) under the assumption of layered samples with homogeneous optical properties and uniform light illumination. The scattering anisotropy factor ( g ) was assumed to be g = 0.6 and the refractive index for gel wax was set to 1.469 [ 31 ].…”

“…Gel wax is an optically transparent mineral-oil based material that has been widely used in the candle industry. Recently, it was used as a TMM for ultrasound-guided needle biopsy phantoms [ 27 ] and for optical imaging phantoms [ 30 , 31 ]. In this study, gel wax-based compounds are introduced as a TMM for photoacoustic imaging for the first time.…”

Biomimetic 3D-printed neurovascular phantoms for near-infrared fluorescence imaging

“…Several years ago, we pioneered the use of this approach for fabrication of turbid, tissue-simulating biophotonic phantoms [14] and provided preliminary images of linear channel phantoms with hyperspectral imaging and optical coherence tomography. Subsequently, additional studies have reported the development of 3D-printed phantoms for optical coherence tomography [15], diffuse optical tomography [16,17], and hyperspectral reflectance imaging [18]. Other studies have used 3D-printing to generate molds for phantom fabrication, including photoacoustic imaging applications [19,20].…”