Sepideh Hatamikia, Laszlo Jaksa, Gernot Kronreif, Wolfgang Birkfellner, Joachim Kettenbach, Martin Buschmann, Andrea Lorenz
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引用次数: 2
Abstract
Recently, 3D printing has been widely used to fabricate medical imaging phantoms. So far, various rigid 3D printable materials have been investigated for their radiological properties and efficiency in imaging phantom fabrication. However, flexible, soft tissue materials are also needed for imaging phantoms for simulating several clinical scenarios where anatomical deformations is important. Recently, various additive manufacturing technologies have been used to produce anatomical models based on extrusion techniques that allow the fabrication of soft tissue materials. To date, there is no systematic study in the literature investigating the radiological properties of silicone rubber materials/fluids for imaging phantoms fabricated directly by extrusion using 3D printing techniques. The aim of this study was to investigate the radiological properties of 3D printed phantoms made of silicone in CT imaging. To achieve this goal, the radiodensity as described as Hounsfield Units (HUs) of several samples composed of three different silicone printing materials were evaluated by changing the infill density to adjust their radiological properties. A comparison of HU values with a Gammex Tissue Characterization Phantom was performed. In addition, a reproducibility analysis was performed by creating several replicas for specific infill densities. A scaled down anatomical model derived from an abdominal CT was also fabricated and the resulting HU values were evaluated. For the three different silicone materials, a spectrum ranging from -639 to +780 HU was obtained on CT at a scan setting of 120 kVp. In addition, using different infill densities, the printed materials were able to achieve a similar radiodensity range as obtained in different tissue-equivalent inserts in the Gammex phantom (238 HU to -673 HU). The reproducibility results showed good agreement between the HU values of the replicas compared to the original samples, confirming the reproducibility of the printed materials. A good agreement was observed between the HU target values in abdominal CT and the HU values of the 3D-printed anatomical phantom in all tissues.
期刊介绍:
Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Physik (Journal of Medical Physics) is an official organ of the German and Austrian Society of Medical Physic and the Swiss Society of Radiobiology and Medical Physics.The Journal is a platform for basic research and practical applications of physical procedures in medical diagnostics and therapy. The articles are reviewed following international standards of peer reviewing.
Focuses of the articles are:
-Biophysical methods in radiation therapy and nuclear medicine
-Dosimetry and radiation protection
-Radiological diagnostics and quality assurance
-Modern imaging techniques, such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography
-Ultrasonography diagnostics, application of laser and UV rays
-Electronic processing of biosignals
-Artificial intelligence and machine learning in medical physics
In the Journal, the latest scientific insights find their expression in the form of original articles, reviews, technical communications, and information for the clinical practice.