Polyvinyl Alcohol Cardiac Phantom for Multimodal Imaging Validation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current cardiac phantoms lack the ability to accurately mimic the elasticity, ultrasound, and magnetic properties of both normal and diseased cardiac tissue, making them inadequate for objective validation and evaluation of cardiac imaging devices.
Innovation Solution
Development of cardiac phantoms made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with cross-linking PVA cryogel (PVA-C) and inclusion of dense PVA-C particles and silicon microspheres as MRI and ultrasound markers, respectively, to simulate the properties of cardiac tissue, allowing for the creation of a multimodal phantom that mimics both normal and diseased cardiac tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional myocardial motility scoring is used, then clinicians can assess heart motion, but the method suffers from subjective inter- and intra-observer variability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a cardiac phantom as a physical copy or model of the actual heart, replicating its anatomical structure and tissue properties. This allows objective validation of imaging techniques without relying on subjective clinical assessment, thereby eliminating observer variability while maintaining measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The phantom incorporates materials with specific physical parameters (elasticity, acoustic properties, magnetic properties) that match cardiac tissue. By carefully controlling and reproducing these parameters in the phantom, the system enables precise and repeatable measurements that are independent of observer subjectivity.
2Measurement precision
If invasive validation techniques such as sonomicrometry or implanted markers are used, then ground truth motion field can be obtained, but the methods are limited to one point and may change local heart motion due to surgical implantation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of implanting markers in the actual heart, the patent creates a phantom that copies the heart's structure and motion characteristics. This allows ground truth validation without any invasive procedures, eliminating the harmful effects of surgical implantation while maintaining measurement accuracy across the entire phantom volume, not just at single points.
Solution Approach 2:
The cardiac phantom serves as an intermediary model between the actual heart and the validation process. It reproduces cardiac anatomy and physiology in a controlled manner, allowing researchers to validate imaging techniques without directly interfering with or altering the living heart's motion patterns.
3Reliability
If a cardiac phantom is developed to validate imaging techniques, then objective evaluation can be achieved, but the phantom must accurately mimic multiple properties of cardiac tissue including elasticity, ultrasound, and magnetic properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials that integrate multiple functional properties within a single phantom structure. The phantom incorporates materials with matched acoustic properties for ultrasound imaging, magnetic properties for MRI, and appropriate elasticity for mechanical behavior. This composite approach enables the phantom to simultaneously satisfy multiple validation requirements without requiring separate components for each property, thereby managing complexity while achieving comprehensive tissue mimicry.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cardiac phantoms effectively simulate the mechanical, acoustical, and magnetic properties of cardiac tissue, enabling more objective evaluation and development of cardiac imaging devices, reducing inter- and intra-observer variability, and providing a controlled experimental setup for validating registration techniques.
Implementation Method 1
a body structure (20) and an upper portion (50)... each including a hollow upper chamber (32, 42) and a hollow lower chamber (34, 44)... The body structure has a shape to mimic the shape of a heart and comprises a material configured to mimic the elasticity, ultrasound, and magnetic properties of cardiac tissue
Implementation Method 2
dense PVA-C particles having an average diameter of 1-3 mm can be used as MRI markers
Implementation Method 3
an ultrasound marker can be plastic microspheres made of silicon particles having an average diameter size of 1-2 mm
Data Source
AI summary
A multimodal cardiac phantom has a body structure with a shape and properties that mimic the elasticity, ultrasound, and magnetic properties of cardiac tissue. The multimodal cardiac phantom is advantageously produced from a polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol. The polyvinyl alcohol may include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers and ultrasound markers. The multimodal cardiac phantom can be used to evaluate and to configure apparatuses for imagining cardiac tissue.