Evaluation of radiation attenuation properties of breast equivalent phantom material made of gelatin material in mammographic X-ray energies

Abstract

The work discusses the development of a novel breast phantom material using local gelatin for medical imaging and patient-specific quality assurance. Various gelatin samples were fabricated, differing in hardness (200, 240, and 250 Bloom values) and gelatin-to-water ratios (15%, 20%, and 25%). These samples were evaluated for density, which ranged from 1.04 to 1.08 g/cm³, and for mechanical properties, revealing that higher hardness and gelatin-to-water ratios led to increased stress-strain values. The study also measured the linear and mass attenuation coefficients (μ, μm) of these samples under different X-ray energies (20–40 kV), finding that samples S7, S8, and S9 exhibited the highest μ values across all energies. The properties of these gelatin samples were compared with data on human breast tissue of different ages from the XCOM database. Samples S1 to S6 closely matched the breast tissue of the young age group, with a minimal difference of less than 0.33. Fitness tests (χ2) indicated that samples with 20% and 25% gelatin content were particularly effective in mimicking young breast tissue. This research suggests the potential of using gelatin samples with at least 20% gelatin powder as a promising material for mimicking young breast tissue in medical phantoms.