Development and evaluation of a novel MR-compatible pelvic end-to-end phantom.

Development and evaluation of a novel MR-compatible pelvic end-to-end phantom. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2018 Nov 08;: Authors: Cunningham JM, Barberi EA, Miller J, Kim JP, Glide-Hurst CK Abstract MR-only treatment planning and MR-IGRT leverage MRI's powerful soft tissue contrast for high-precision radiation therapy. However, anthropomorphic MR-compatible phantoms are currently limited. This work describes the development and evaluation of a custom-designed, modular, pelvic end-to-end (PETE) MR-compatible phantom to benchmark MR-only and MR-IGRT workflows. For construction considerations, subject data were assessed for phantom/skeletal geometry and internal organ kinematics to simulate average male pelvis anatomy. Various materials for the bone, bladder, and rectum were evaluated for utility within the phantom. Once constructed, PETE underwent CT-SIM, MR-Linac, and MR-SIM imaging to qualitatively assess organ visibility. Scans were acquired with various bladder and rectal volumes to assess component interactions, filling capabilities, and filling reproducibility via volume and centroid differences. PETE simulates average male pelvis anatomy and comprises an acrylic body oval (height/width = 23.0/38.1 cm) and a cast-mold urethane skeleton, with silicone balloons simulating bladder and rectum, a silicone sponge prostate, and hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) foam to simulate fat/tissue separation between organs. Access ports enable retrof...
Source: Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics - Category: Physics Authors: Tags: J Appl Clin Med Phys Source Type: research