An Enhanced Voxel-by-Voxel Filament Extrusion-Based Method for Realistic Radiological Phantoms: A Breast Phantom...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Accurate fabrication of patient-specific phantoms is crucial for medical imaging research and device testing.
• Traditional 3D printing methods often struggle with precise material deposition, leading to inaccuracies in phantom replication.
• Voxel-level control in additive manufacturing offers potential for enhanced fidelity but requires sophisticated control strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel voxel-by-voxel fused filament fabrication approach with simultaneous, real-time dual-parameter control.
• To enhance the accuracy and responsiveness of 3D printing for soft tissue phantom fabrication.
• To demonstrate the capability of the method in replicating complex anatomical structures and material properties from patient data.

Main Methods:

• Development of a custom 3D printer enabling per-voxel manipulation of filament flow and printing speed.
• Implementation of a control strategy where printing speed is adjusted proportionally to the extrusion rate.
• Validation through a calibration process correlating Hounsfield Units (HUs) with extrusion rate and speed, and fabrication of a patient-specific breast phantom using MRI data.

Main Results:

• Calibration demonstrated a strong linear correlation (R=0.99) between Hounsfield Units, extrusion rate, and speed.
• Fabricated breast phantom exhibited consistent replication of expected HU distribution and anatomical features.
• CT scans confirmed high visual correlation between the fabricated phantom and original patient MRI data.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced voxel-by-voxel fused filament fabrication with dual-parameter control significantly improves the fidelity of soft tissue phantom fabrication.
• The method offers precise control over material deposition, effectively mitigating under-extrusion issues.
• Future research will explore high-speed printing and multi-material capabilities for broader applications.