Deep-frozen biologic phantom for performance evaluation of CT scanners

A test method with use of a biologic phantom--a deep-frozen specimen of a human cadaver--was developed in an attempt to simulate the clinical setting in CT of the spine. The quality of both soft tissue and bone images in the absence of motion artifacts was evaluated for seven scanner models. Special attention was paid to identification of the pattern and extent of artifacts. The phantom consisted of a spine with surrounding muscles. The images were evaluated subjectively and comparisons were made between the different scanners. Examples of these results are presented. A biologic phantom is a valuable supplement to artificial phantoms and increases the ability to evaluate and compare the performance of CT scanners.