Construction of inflatable lungs to simulate respiratory motion in myocardial perfusion imaging

Abstract

Physical phantoms are useful to optimize MPI. Previously, phantoms of beating left ventricles were used with or without phantoms of static lungs to investigate MPI. Both cardiac and respiratory motions contribute to the degradation of image quality and may decrease the diagnostic accuracy. The different frequencies of these motions constitute an inevitable problem for all imaging modalities. The aim of this work was to construct human-sized inflatable lungs with lunge-quivalent density by injection molding. The tidal volume and the breathing cycle of the inflatable lungs were mechanically validated. SPECT/CT acquisitions and the OsiriX imaging software were also used to validate the tidal volume of the lungs. Respiratory motion can be simulated in MPI using these inflatable lungs.