MRI-compatible breast/rib phantom for evaluating ultrasonic thermal exposures

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Acoustic Physics

Background:

• Development of MRI-compatible breast phantom for focused ultrasound.
• Inclusion of plastic (ABS) ribs to mimic anatomical structures.
• Addressing the challenge of rib heating during focused ultrasound procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate a focused ultrasound procedure using a novel breast phantom.
• Assess the phantom's utility in eliminating rib heating.
• Validate the phantom for MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) applications.

Main Methods:

• Phantom fabrication with ABS ribs and agar-silica-evaporation milk gel.
• Two focused ultrasound exposure scenarios were tested.
• Magnetic Resonance (MR) thermometry used to monitor temperature changes.

Main Results:

• ABS rib attenuation was comparable to biological ribs.
• MR thermometry successfully acquired temperature data.
• Lateral transducer positioning avoided rib exposure to focused ultrasound.

Conclusions:

• The developed breast/rib phantom is a valuable tool for evaluating focused ultrasound protocols.
• The phantom aids in assessing MRgFUS procedures for breast cancer.
• Demonstrated a method to avoid rib heating during focused ultrasound treatments.