A novel 3D printed anthropomorphic phantom for evaluation of MR image characteristics

Motivation: The typical MRI phantoms with simple geometric inserts in homogenous background do not allow in-depth evaluation of MR image characteristics necessary for assessing advanced imaging and reconstruction techniques. Goal(s): To develop phantoms that can produce images with realistic anatomical structure that are more suitable for thorough evaluation of MR image characteristics. Approach: We developed an approach to construct novel anthropomorphic phantoms using 3D-printing technique and use an example to demonstrate the utilization of this phantom for image quality evaluation. Results: The phantom created with this approach can produce images resembling original MRI images acquired on human subjects. Impact: The phantom generated using the proposed approach allows in-depth evaluation of MR image characteristics utilizing images with realistic anatomical structure, which may be especially beneficial for developing and evaluating advanced data acquisition and reconstruction techniques.