Devkumar Mustafi1, Elizabeth Peng1, Marieke Heisen2, Abbie M. Wood3, Johannes Buurman4, Gregory S. Karczmar3
1Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; 2Biomedical Image Analysis, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 3Radiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; 4Healthcare Informatics, Philips Healthcare, Netherlands
We have developed a method for making air bubble-free agar phantoms for MRI that mimic human tissue in terms of their relaxation pathways and other magnetic interactions. Here, we describe phantoms designed for two different applications: (1) phantoms with varying concentrations of agar and Omniscan that are used for periodic quality assurance to evaluate overall scanner function; and (2) a unique soft phantom designed for attachment to the breast that can be scanned in the course of each clinical protocol. Fat was suspended in an irregular pattern so that the phantom more accurately simulated breast tissue.
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