We present cross-sectional conductivity images of two biological tissue phantoms. Each of the cylindrical phantoms with both diameter and height of 140 mm contained chunks of biological tissues such as bovine tongue and liver, porcine muscle and chicken breast within a conductive agar gelatin as the background medium. We attached four recessed electrodes on the sides of the phantom with equal s...

To test the feasibility of applying ultrasonic elastography on small animal oncology models, experiments were performed in vitro and in situ on murine mammary lesions induced exogenously by tumor cell line 66.3. In vitro studies involved three 1-week-old excised tumors embedded in a phantom block with ultrasonic properties similar to those of soft biologic tissues. In situ studies involved five...

BACKGROUND A new sensor for estimating elasticity of soft tissues such as a liver was developed for minimally invasive surgery application. METHODS By measuring deformation and adjusting internal pressure of the pneumatic sensor head, the sensor can be used to do palpation (indentation) of tissues with wide range of stiffness. A video camera installed within the sensor shell is used to regist...

A ten-month study is presented of materials for use in heterogeneous elastography phantoms. The materials consist of gelatin with or without a suspension of microscopic safflower oil droplets. The highest volume percent of oil in the materials is 50%. Thimerosal acts as a preservative. The greater the safflower oil concentration, the lower the Young's modulus. Elastographic data for heterogeneo...

We present a fast technique for simulating fluid-filled elastic objects with the Finite Element Method. By simulating the presence of fluid with hydrostatic fluid pressure, a quasi-static simulation of fluid can be achieved by applying a force boundary condition to the nodes on the fluidelastic interface. Using a proportional feedback control algorithm, a relationship between the volume and pre...

PURPOSE To determine whether signal variations and subtle anatomic deformities observed in high-resolution MR studies of temporal bones were caused by the large susceptibility differences at air-fluid interfaces near the round and oval window. METHODS A systematic study of healthy subjects and plastic phantoms was conducted. The phantom consisted of a series of cylindrical holes of various sm...

Spatial-angular compounding is a new technique developed for improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in elastography. Under this method, elastograms of a region-of-interest (ROI) are obtained from a spatially weighted average of local strain estimated along different insonification angles. In this article, we investigate the improvements in the strain contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR...

Tissue simulating phantoms can provide a valuable platform for quantitative evaluation of the performance of diffuse optical devices. While solid phantoms have been developed for applications related to characterizing exogenous fluorescence and intrinsic chromophores such as hemoglobin and melanin, we report the development of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) tissue phantom that mimics the spect...

With the growth of ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, so has the requirement for training tools to practice needle guidance skills and evaluate echogenic needles. Ethically, skills in ultrasound-guided needle placement should be gained in a phantom before performance of nerve blocks on patients in clinical practice. However, phantom technology is varied, and critical evaluation of the image...

Optical-computed tomography (CT) and optical-emission computed tomography (ECT) are recent techniques with potential for high-resolution multi-faceted 3D imaging of the structure and function in unsectioned tissue samples up to 1-4 cc. Quantitative imaging of 3D fluorophore distribution (e.g. GFP) using optical-ECT is challenging due to attenuation present within the sample. Uncorrected reconst...