Development of a dynamic flow imaging phantom for dynamic contrast-enhanced CT.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology

Background:

• Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT) is increasingly used for assessing blood flow and tissue perfusion.
• Validation of quantitative parameters from DCE-CT and perfusion modeling is crucial for clinical implementation.
• Advances in CT technology enable whole-organ imaging with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct a novel dynamic flow imaging phantom.
• To create a framework for quantifying and validating DCE-CT measurements and kinetic modeling.
• To generate realistic time-attenuation curves (TACs) under controlled flow conditions.

Main Methods:

• A 3D-printed two-compartment phantom was developed.
• The phantom was used to generate physiologically relevant input and output TACs.
• A prediction model was created to compute TACs based on experimental parameters and then inversely applied.

Main Results:

• The phantom produced reproducible TACs with minimal error (<5%).
• Measured TACs showed excellent agreement with model predictions (R2 > 0.95 for input, R2 > 0.92 for output).
• The phantom allowed investigation of image noise, partial volume effects, and scanner sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The dynamic flow phantom accurately and reproducibly quantifies perfusion parameters.
• It serves as a unique tool for validating DCE-CT protocols and comparing CT scanners.
• The phantom's design supports multimodality imaging validation (MRI, PET).