Feasibility Of Polyvinyl Chloride as A Breast Ultrasound Phantom

Ultrasound phantoms are tools that mimic biological tissues, which allow the study of their reactions with ultrasound. Tissue mimicking phantoms provide a controlled environment in which to test the performance of imaging modalities and to develop new methods. They can also be used to simulate different tissue types, allowing for more accurate testing. This study aims to evaluate polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tissue mimicking material for breast phantoms in ultrasound B-mode and shear wave elastography. It was found that PVC is a stable, durable, and easy-to-handle material compared to other materials. The breast’s fatty tissue was fabricated by adding graphite powder with a concentration of 0.5% to 8 x of PVC and softneer mixture. Lesions with varying echogenicity patterns can be produced by mixing PVC powder with graphite powder at different concentrations (isoechoic, hypoechoic, and hyperechoic). As a result of this mixture, phantom materials with a speed of sound ranging from 1454 to 1550 (m/s) and an attenuation coefficient between 0.41 and 1.61 (dB/cm) at a frequency of 5 MHz at 23 C was fabricated and tested. According to the study results, it is possible to fabricate ultrasound phantoms that reproduce the image characteristics of fatty breast tissue and typical breast lesions using low-cost materials that are widely available and stable at room temperature.