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Updated: Jun 29, 2026
10:22
Fabrication and Characterization of Optical Tissue Phantoms Containing Macrostructure
Published on: February 12, 2018
11.1K
Optical finger phantom with realistic optical properties
Markus Wagner1,2, Christian Blum1,2, Alwin Kienle1,2
1Institut fuer Lasertechnologien in der Medizin und Meßtechnik an der Universität Ulm, Helmholtzstraße 12, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Biomedical Optics Express
|December 15, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a realistic silicone finger phantom with accurate optical and geometric properties. This advancement improves optical phantoms for better human tissue simulation in visible light applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Optics
- Biomaterials Engineering
Background:
- Current optical phantoms lack realistic optical and geometrical properties.
- Accurate phantoms are crucial for simulating light-matter interactions in biological tissues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate a silicone finger phantom mimicking human finger optical and geometrical characteristics.
- To precisely control absorption and reduced scattering coefficients in the visible wavelength range.
Main Methods:
- Determined human finger optical properties using a custom inverse model and integrating sphere system.
- Created a pigment database to reproduce target absorption spectra in silicone.
- Controlled reduced scattering coefficient by adjusting zirconium dioxide particle concentration.
- Utilized alginate molds for anatomically accurate finger geometry.
Main Results:
- The fabricated silicone finger phantom demonstrated close matches in transmittance, reflectance, and anatomical shape compared to a human finger.
- Achieved a ΔE2000 value of 0.85 between human and silicone finger reflectance spectra.
- Observed good agreement in light propagation, visual appearance, and spatial light distribution under transmittance illumination.
Conclusions:
- Developed a novel method for fabricating silicone finger phantoms with matched optical and anatomical properties.
- The phantom serves as a realistic model for human finger optical properties.
- This advancement has implications for optical imaging and sensing research involving fingers.
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