Skeletal Muscle Phantom for Elastography Imaging

• Kazi Hussain
• Aime Luna
• Malek Qwaisni
• Alex Rivera Hidalgo

Advisors: Miiri Kotche, PhD, Anthony E. Felder, PhD

Sponsor: Thomas Royston, PhD

Phantoms used in elastographic imaging to calibrate measurement systems and advance measurement methodology currently do not accurately characterize highly anisotropic tissues, such as striated skeletal and cardiac muscle. These tissue types also undergo significant changes in their mechanical properties due to the variations in mechanical loading they are subjected to as part of their normal function. Researchers need physiologically accurate, durable muscle phantoms to improve calibration systems for elastography, whether performed using optical, ultrasonic or magnetic resonance imaging modalities. Skeletal muscle phantoms should mimic the properties of real muscle tissue in order to be used as a calibrator for measurement methodology in the detection, classification, and monitoring of diseases. Our proposed solution is a multilayered phantom consisting of different materials that can be accurately used as a developmental tool in imaging processes. The modifications made to the original prototype bring upon a “pillar-in-pillar” design, an adaptation of Dr. Thomas Royston’s previous work of pillared columns. Our design used material that we hypothesized would satisfy device requirements of anisotropy, density, and dimensions. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to proceed with testing that verifies the mechanical properties of our novel design using Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry(SLDV) and Magnetic Resonance Elastography(MRE). Mock data was provided for the SLDV experiment, consisting of elastic modulus for our phantom test groups so we could conduct comparative studies on the different designs’ viscoelastic properties. Our final design would be working toward a phantom that could be used across several modalities to develop and calibrate imaging methods. Possible next steps to improve future phantoms would be to incorporate a piezoelectric component to further characterize skeletal mechanical responses as well as verify anisotropic properties using MRE. Our work has the greatest impact on the development of future phantoms’ properties and materials used in general elastography imaging.

See supporting documentation in the team’s Box drive.