Agarose/Sucrose Gel Breast Phantom for Validation of Quantitative Methods in Diffusion Weighted Imaging

Physical and digital phantoms are useful instruments for the validation of image processing methods for oncology allowing the simulation of various realistic scenarios with the knowledge of gold standard (GS) parameters, such as oncological lesion characteristics. This work aims presenting a strategy to create disposable realistic breast phantoms, suitable for Magnetic Resonance (MR) acquisitions by using Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI). Diffusion materials were prepared using agarose/sucrose gels. Gel diffusion characteristics were evaluated in cylindrical calibration phantoms in order to obtain GS for Apparent Diffusion Coefficients (ADCs). Realistic oncological lesions with irregular shapes were manufactured using 3D-printed plastic molds filled with the gel mixture at a sucrose concentration mimicking the diffusion characteristics of high cellularity tissues. Breast cancer phantoms, simulating realistic oncological conditions, were manufactured suspending synthetic lesion in a uniform gel mixture background characterized by diffusion properties similar to normal breast tissue. As proof of concept of the usefulness of this phantom, validation of two different segmentation methods was performed.