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Fabrication and Characterization of Optical Tissue Phantoms Containing Macrostructure
Published on: February 12, 2018
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Bone tissue phantoms for optical flowmeters at large interoptode spacing generated by 3D-stereolithography
Tiziano Binzoni1, Alessandro Torricelli2, Remo Giust3
1Département de Neurosciences Fondamentales, University of Geneva, Switzerland ; Département de l'Imagerie et des Sciences de l'Information Médicale, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
Biomedical Optics Express
|August 20, 2014
Summary
Researchers developed a 3D-printed bone tissue phantom for testing optical flowmeters like laser-Doppler flowmetry. This allows for complex vascular system simulation and accurate optical property replication for in vivo bone tissue.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optical Physics
- Tissue Optics
Background:
- Optical flowmeters are crucial for assessing tissue perfusion.
- Testing these devices, especially at large interoptode spacings, requires realistic phantoms.
- Existing phantoms may not adequately replicate complex vascular structures or optical properties of bone tissue.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel 3D-printed bone tissue phantom.
- To enable testing of optical flowmeters, including laser-Doppler flowmetry and diffuse correlation spectroscopy.
- To validate the phantom's ability to mimic in vivo human bone tissue optical properties and vascularity.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing 3D-stereolithography to fabricate the bone tissue phantom.
- Designing complex, arbitrary geometrical vascular systems within the phantom.
- Measuring the phantom's absorption coefficient, reduced scattering coefficient, and refractive index.
- Conducting experimental validation using a laser-Doppler flowmeter.
Main Results:
- Successful development of a 3D-printed bone tissue phantom prototype.
- Demonstration of the phantom's capability to simulate intricate vascular networks.
- Optical properties (absorption, scattering, refractive index) were found to reasonably reproduce those of human bone tissue.
- Experimental use with a laser-Doppler flowmeter confirmed the phantom's applicability.
Conclusions:
- The 3D-printed bone tissue phantom is a viable tool for calibrating and testing optical flowmeters.
- The phantom accurately replicates optical properties and complex vascularity of human bone tissue.
- This development facilitates advancements in non-invasive tissue perfusion monitoring.
