Abstract
The rapid development of hardware and software for photoacoustic technologies is urging the establishment of dedicated tools for standardization and performance assessment. In particular, the fabrication of anatomical phantoms for photoacoustic imaging remains an open question, as current solutions have not yet gained unanimous support. Here, we propose that a hybrid material made of a water-in-oil emulsion of glycerol and polydimethylsiloxane may represent a versatile platform to host a broad taxonomy of hydrophobic and hydrophilic dyes and recapitulate the optical and acoustic features of bio tissue. For a full optical parameterization, we refer to Wróbel, et al. [ Biomed. Opt. Express7, 2088 (2016)], where this material was first presented for optical imaging. Instead, here, we complete the picture and find that its speed of sound and acoustic attenuation resemble those of pure polydimethylsiloxane, i.e. respectively 1150 ± 30 m/s and 3.5 ± 0.4 dB/(MHz·cm). We demonstrate its use under a commercial B-mode scanner and a home-made A-mode stage for photoacoustic analysis to retrieve the ground-truth encoded in a multilayer architecture containing indocyanine green, plasmonic particles and red blood cells. Finally, we verify the stability of its acoustic, optical and geometric features over a time span of three months.
Highlights
Anatomical phantoms represent a key asset for the translational development, performance assessment and standardization of new medical imaging technologies [1,2,3]
We demonstrate its use under a commercial B-mode scanner and a home-made A-mode stage for photoacoustic analysis to retrieve the ground-truth encoded in a multilayer architecture containing indocyanine green, plasmonic particles and red blood cells
We have tested the inclusion of a diversified taxonomy of hydrophilic dyes into the glycerol component, i.e. indocyanine green (ICG), gold nanorods (GNRs) and red blood cells (RBCs)
Summary
Anatomical phantoms represent a key asset for the translational development, performance assessment and standardization of new medical imaging technologies [1,2,3]. As new technological concepts come to light, there emerge new challenges on the design of artificial materials that may encode the biophysical features and enable an impartial validation of the technical specs of interest. This issue becomes more complex as the technological platforms are more multimodal, correlative or hybrid or involve multiple scales, anatomical sites or medical problems. PAI or bimodal PAI / ultrasound imaging have found application in a broad variety of pathological conditions, including, in particular, cardiovascular disease [18, 19] and cancer [20], where relevant hallmarks include the total concentration of hemoglobin and/or melanin, the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, the arrangement of blood vessels, or the accumulation of exogenous optical contrast agents, such as organic dyes, plasmonic particles, etc
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