An Anthropomorphic Cardiac Phantom based on MR-Visible Additive Manufacturing for Development and Training of Interventional CMR Procedures

Motivation: Both technological development as well as procedural training of interventional cardiac MR (iCMR) procedures require anatomically realistic models. Animal studies are undesirable and becoming virtually impossible due to legal and ethical restrictions. Goal(s): To develop a realistic cardiac phantom that can be 3D printed using standard MR-visible support material. Approach: Material properties were determined and an anatomically realistic cardiac model was developed and constructed using 3D printing. Imaging features were assessed and an MR-guided cardiac intervention was simulated experimentally. Results: A simple and realistic MR-visible cardiac phantom has been presented for technological development and training purposes, to improve MR-guided cardiac interventions. Impact: The proposed phantom facilitates the development, testing and validation of novel technologies to improve MR-guided cardiac interventions, can be used for procedural training purposes, and may ultimately contribute to the improvement of clinical outcome.