Towards a more realistic anthropomorphic chest phantom using 3D-printed and cork-integrated components

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology

Background:

• Existing thorax phantoms for computed tomography (CT) lack realistic lung parenchyma and bronchovascular anatomy.
• 3D-printed chest phantoms offer improved anatomical accuracy as alternatives to current models.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate an in-house developed anthropomorphic phantom insert for anatomical and attenuation realism.
• Compare the modified phantom to original phantom and human CT data.

Main Methods:

• Modified the "Lungman" anthropomorphic chest phantom with a 3D-printed insert, cork-based lung parenchyma, and nodules.
• Performed qualitative and quantitative CT analyses, comparing attenuation values and histogram distributions to human data.
• Conducted subjective radiologist assessments for anatomical realism.

Main Results:

• Modified phantom's parenchymal attenuation closely matched human lung parenchyma (-854 HU vs. -872 HU).
• Unmodified phantom showed significantly lower parenchymal attenuation (-997 HU).
• Radiologists rated the modified phantom higher for anatomical realism, though bronchovascular insert requires refinement.

Conclusions:

• Presents a modified anthropomorphic thorax phantom with realistic 3D-printed bronchial/vascular structures, lung parenchyma, and nodules.
• The developed phantom demonstrates enhanced anatomical realism for CT imaging applications.