Encrypted login | home

Program Information

3D Printed Cylindrical Texture Inserts for a Commonly Used CT Phantom for Radiomics Quality Assurance


M Shafiq ul Hassan

M Shafiq ul Hassan1,2*, G Zhang1,2 , K Latifi1,2 , G Ullah2 , D Hunt1, R Gillies1 , E Moros1,2 , (1) H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, (2) University of South Florida, Tampa, FL,

Presentations

WE-RAM2-GePD-IT-3 (Wednesday, August 2, 2017) 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Room: Imaging ePoster Theater


Purpose: Computed tomography (CT) texture phantoms are needed for radiomic quality assurance (QA) of clinical trials and standardization of imaging parameters. The purpose of this study was to create and characterize texture inserts for a commonly used CT QA phantom (Gammex 467 or G467).

Methods: The G467 phantom has 16 inserts that span a range of electronic densities, but are all homogenous. Textured cylindrical inserts were modeled using a software (SketchUp) and fabricated using a 3D printer (FlashForge Creator Pro, FlashForge, USA). Each insert was 28 mm in diameter by 70 mm in length to exactly match the dimensions of existing G467 phantom inserts. Heterogeneity within the inserts was achieved by creating patterns and/or voids. Each void was later filled with various materials such as shredded rubber (0.93 g/cm³), sycamore wood (0.54 g/cm³) and airsoft balls (variable density). CT scans of textured inserts, inserted in G467 phantom were acquired using two CT scanners. The range, mean and standard deviation of Hounsfield Units (HU) within the inserts were extracted from regions of interests (ROIs).

Results: The mean and range of HU values of rubber-filled inserts were similar to those from NSCLC tumors. Heterogeneous inserts with multiple fill materials had HU range of -960 to 340. The mean and standard deviation of HU for heterogeneous inserts were -468 and 180.3 while for the rubber-filled inserts were -66 and 83, respectively.

Conclusion: Cylindrical inserts were successfully 3D-printed for G467 phantom for CT radiomics QA. The heterogeneous inserts had HU values similar to lung tumors, and in conjunction with G467 phantom can be used for quality assurance of clinical trials; they are light, small, and easy to reproduce and distribute in mass quantities. Moreover, these heterogeneous inserts can be customized to mimic the HU characteristics of solid tumors.

Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: funded in part by grant NIH/NCI RO1CA190105-01


Contact Email: