Low-cost fabrication of optical tissue phantoms for use in biomedical imaging

Ntombela, Lindokuhle; Adeleye, Bamise; Chetty, Naven

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03602

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…It is sometimes desired that phantoms also have acoustic and optical properties that match the specific tissue to be mimicked, which can be particularly important for use with certain imaging modalities and applications such as quality control. 4,5,41 Multiple studies have reported the use of various additives and scattering materials to tissuemimicking materials in order to control the acoustic and optical properties. 8,37,39 A study by Alves et al utilizing the same tissue-mimicking gel combined with mineral oil and cellulose powder reported acoustic properties within the range of cardiac tissue and standards for phantoms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Custom Wall-Less Cardiovascular Flow Phantoms with Tissue-Mimicking Gel

Laughlin

Stephens

Hestekin

et al. 2021

Cardiovasc Eng Tech

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Purpose Flow phantoms are used in experimental settings to aid in the simulation of blood flow. Custom geometries are available, but current phantom materials present issues with degradability and/or mimicking the mechanical properties of human tissue. In this study, a method of fabricating custom wall-less flow phantoms from a tissue-mimicking gel using 3D printed inserts is developed. Methods A 3D blood vessel geometry example of a bifurcated artery model was 3D printed in polyvinyl alcohol, embedded in tissue-mimicking gel, and subsequently dissolved to create a phantom. Uniaxial compression testing was performed to determine the Young’s moduli of the five gel types. Angle-independent, ultrasound-based imaging modalities, Vector Flow Imaging (VFI) and Blood Speckle Imaging (BSI), were utilized for flow visualization of a straight channel phantom. Results A wall-less phantom of the bifurcated artery was fabricated with minimal bubbles and continuous flow demonstrated. Additionally, flow was visualized through a straight channel phantom by VFI and BSI. The available gel types are suitable for mimicking a variety of tissue types, including cardiac tissue and blood vessels. Conclusion Custom, tissue-mimicking flow phantoms can be fabricated using the developed methodology and have potential for use in a variety of applications, including ultrasound-based imaging methods. This is the first reported use of BSI with an in vitro flow phantom.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Custom Wall-Less Cardiovascular Flow Phantoms with Tissue-Mimicking Gel

Laughlin

Stephens

Hestekin

et al. 2021

Cardiovasc Eng Tech

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show abstract

“…To overcome this challenge, we placed a polydimethylstyrene (PDMS) phantom with a high concentration of polystyrene beads with a well-characterized scattering profile to serve as an additional scattering layer over the sample. 22,23 We simulated the illumination distribution of the system using the optical properties of the PDMS phantom. To capture the dynamic information, cells were imaged continuously at 4 or 32 frames per second (fps) over 1 or 8 min, respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional imaging with dynamic quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy

Costa

Wang

Filan³

et al. 2022

J. Biomed. Opt.

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Significance: Quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM) is a recently developed label-free imaging technique that enables 3D quantitative phase imaging of thick scattering samples with epi-illumination. Here, we propose dynamic qOBM to achieve functional imaging based on subcellular dynamics, potentially indicative of metabolic activity. We show the potential utility of this novel technique by imaging adherent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) grown in bioreactors, which can help address important unmet needs in cell manufacturing for therapeutics.Aim: We aim to develop dynamic qOBM and demonstrate its potential for functional imaging based on cellular and subcellular dynamics.Approach: To obtain functional images with dynamic qOBM, a sample is imaged over a period of time and its temporal signals are analyzed. The dynamic signals display an exponential frequency response that can be analyzed with phasor analysis. Functional images of the dynamic signatures are obtained by mapping the frequency dynamic response to phasor space and colorcoding clustered signals.Results: Functional imaging with dynamic qOBM provides unique information related to subcellular activity. The functional qOBM images of MSCs not only improve conspicuity of cells in complex environments (e.g., porous micro-carriers) but also reveal two distinct cell populations with different dynamic behavior. Conclusions:In this work we present a label-free, fast, and scalable functional imaging approach to study and intuitively display cellular and subcellular dynamics. We further show the potential utility of this novel technique to help monitor adherent MSCs grown in bioreactors, which can help achieve quality-by-design of cell products, a significant unmet need in the field of cell therapeutics. This approach also has great potential for dynamic studies of other thick samples, such as organoids.

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“…The hair thickness varies between 56 and 99 μm. Imaging of the suspended samples was done in three variations: in air (with OCT only), in deionized water and in agar phantom, which is often used as tissue‐mimicking phantoms for ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging [35–37].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimodal system for optical biopsy of melanoma with integrated ultrasound, optical coherence tomography and Raman spectroscopy

Kukk

Gaffal

et al. 2022

Journal of Biophotonics

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We introduce a new single‐head multimodal optical system that integrates optical coherence tomography (OCT), 18 MHz ultrasound (US) tomography and Raman spectroscopy (RS), allowing for fast (<2 min) and noninvasive skin cancer diagnostics and lesion depth measurement. The OCT can deliver structural and depth information of smaller skin lesions (<1 mm), while the US allows to measure the penetration depth of thicker lesions (≥4 mm), and the RS analyzes the chemical composition from a small chosen spot (≤300 μm) that can be used to distinguish between benign and malignant melanoma. The RS and OCT utilize the same scanning and optical setup, allowing for co‐localized measurements. The US on the other side is integrated with an acoustical reflector, which enables B‐mode measurements on the same position as OCT and RS. The US B‐mode scans can be translated across the sample by laterally moving the US transducer, which is made possible by the developed adapter with a flexible membrane. We present the results on custom‐made liquid and agar phantoms that show the resolution and depth capabilities of the setup, as well as preliminary ex vivo measurements on mouse models with ∼4.3 mm thick melanoma.

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Low-cost fabrication of optical tissue phantoms for use in biomedical imaging

Cited by 36 publications

References 31 publications

Development of Custom Wall-Less Cardiovascular Flow Phantoms with Tissue-Mimicking Gel

Development of Custom Wall-Less Cardiovascular Flow Phantoms with Tissue-Mimicking Gel

Functional imaging with dynamic quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy

Multimodal system for optical biopsy of melanoma with integrated ultrasound, optical coherence tomography and Raman spectroscopy

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