Unmet Need
Medical procedures are often difficult to master for novice clinicians and clinicians-in-training. In order to minimize risk to patients and still provide viable opportunities for practicing these procedures, training phantoms are often used. However, existing training phantoms are generically produced and therefore do not adequately represent precise patient anatomy and lack the versatility to create models of various anatomies. There is a need for a body phantom technology that can create realistic and patient-specific models to maximize training for challenging clinical procedures.
Technology Overview
Inventors at Johns Hopkins have developed bio-fidelic phantoms of specific patients’ cancers. The specificity of the anatomical location and orientation is achieved via segmentation of CT/MRI scans and subsequent transference of the contours to 3D printers. Varying ratios of polymer blend are used to mimic the modulus of tissues
involved in the model. Additionally, ultrasound imaging of the model is near indistinguishable from real tissue through incorporation of glass microbeads into the
formulation. The result is a realistic and tactile 3D model of a patient’s anatomy and its associated cancer for clinical practice.
Stage of Development
Initial prototypes have been developed for gynecological and genitourinary applications.
Patent
N/A
Publication
Kut C., Kao T., Morcos M., Kim Y.S., Boctor E., Viswanathan A.N., Anatomically Precise, Non-Biodegradable Whole Pelvic Phantom for Ultrasound-Guided Training in Hydrogel Spacer Injection, poster presentation at 2020 ASTRO Meeting.
