An electrically-activated dynamic tissue-equivalent phantom for assessment of diffuse optical imaging systems.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging
• Optical Physics

Background:

• Assessing diffuse optical imaging (DOI) systems requires reliable phantoms.
• Existing phantoms often lack dynamic, controllable contrast features.
• Monitoring hemodynamic changes in tissues necessitates advanced imaging tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel solid dynamic phantom with tunable optical properties.
• To enable electrical activation of variable contrast regions within the phantom.
• To validate the phantom's utility for diffuse optical imaging system performance evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Designed a solid phantom with tissue-like optical properties.
• Incorporated thermochromic pigments for localized, electrically induced absorption changes.
• Constructed a portable, battery-operated prototype and characterized its optical/temporal behavior.
• Acquired data using a continuous wave optical topography system for image reconstruction.

Main Results:

• Successfully created a dynamic phantom with reversible absorption changes.
• Demonstrated electrical control over contrast regions via localized heating.
• Characterized the phantom's optical and temporal performance.
• Reconstructed images of the phantom using continuous wave optical topography data.

Conclusions:

• The developed solid dynamic phantom offers a novel tool for diffuse optical imaging.
• Its controllable contrast regions are suitable for assessing hemodynamic monitoring systems.
• The phantom's design facilitates performance evaluation of optical imaging technologies.