Development and Radiological Evaluation of 3D-Printed Patient-Specific Lung Phantoms: From CT Imaging to 3D Modeling...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology

Background:

• Accurate medical imaging requires reliable phantoms for evaluation.
• Patient-specific lung phantoms can improve diagnostic accuracy and training.
• Reproducing subtle pulmonary features like ground-glass opacities is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate 3D printed lung phantoms for reproducing subtle pulmonary features.
• To develop an integrated workflow for fabricating and evaluating patient-specific lung phantoms.
• To compare the imaging performance of phantoms fabricated using different methods.

Main Methods:

• High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) datasets were used to create lung phantoms.
• Phantoms were fabricated at reduced scale using stereolithography (SLA) and fused deposition modeling (FDM).
• Radiographic evaluation and quantitative grayscale analysis were performed.

Main Results:

• SLA phantoms showed smooth microstructures and uniform grayscale response, aiding visualization.
• FDM phantoms exhibited porous architectures with lung-equivalent attenuation and scatter.
• Fabrication methods led to systematic differences in attenuation due to material density and microstructure.

Conclusions:

• Phantom geometry and fabrication strategy significantly impact radiological performance.
• 3D printed lung phantoms offer a flexible framework for imaging research and validation.
• Both slim and anthropomorphic phantoms have distinct applications in quality assurance and diagnostic training.