Anthropomorphic Physical Breast Phantom Based on Patient Breast CT Data: Preliminary Results

Abstract

We propose a novel approach for the fabrication of realistic in shape, size as well as in x-ray absorption properties 3D physical breast models. The approach eliminates the need for segmentation of breast tissues by directly mimicking the radiodensity of each voxel in a computed tomography (CT) image. This is done through a recently published study that enables the use of variable filament extrusion rate when creating 3D phantoms with fused deposition modeling printers. We use the CT image of a real patient’s breast to produce a model through the suggested approach. We then validate the fabricated physical breast phantom by obtaining a CT scan of it and comparing the latter to the original CT image of the source patient’s breast.