Sindi Rooa, Wong Yin How, Yeong Chai Hong, Sun Zhonghua
Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
Radio-diagnostic and Medical Imaging Department, Medical Physics Section, King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2020 Jun;10(6):1237-1248. doi: 10.21037/qims-20-251.
Despite increasing reports of 3D printing in medical applications, the use of 3D printing in breast imaging is limited, thus, personalized 3D-printed breast model could be a novel approach to overcome current limitations in utilizing breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for quantitative assessment of breast density. The aim of this study is to develop a patient-specific 3D-printed breast phantom and to identify the most appropriate materials for simulating the MR imaging characteristics of fibroglandular and adipose tissues.
A patient-specific 3D-printed breast model was generated using 3D-printing techniques for the construction of the hollow skin and fibroglandular region shells. Then, the T1 relaxation times of the five selected materials (agarose gel, silicone rubber with/without fish oil, silicone oil, and peanut oil) were measured on a 3T MRI system to determine the appropriate ones to represent the MR imaging characteristics of fibroglandular and adipose tissues. Results were then compared to the reference values of T1 relaxation times of the corresponding tissues: 1,324.42±167.63 and 449.27±26.09 ms, respectively. Finally, the materials that matched the T1 relaxation times of the respective tissues were used to fill the 3D-printed hollow breast shells.
The silicone and peanut oils were found to closely resemble the T1 relaxation times and imaging characteristics of these two tissues, which are 1,515.8±105.5 and 405.4±15.1 ms, respectively. The agarose gel with different concentrations, ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 wt%, was found to have the longest T1 relaxation times.
A patient-specific 3D-printed breast phantom was successfully designed and constructed using silicone and peanut oils to simulate the MR imaging characteristics of fibroglandular and adipose tissues. The phantom can be used to investigate different MR breast imaging protocols for the quantitative assessment of breast density.
尽管3D打印在医学应用中的报道日益增多，但3D打印在乳腺成像中的应用有限，因此，个性化3D打印乳腺模型可能是一种新颖的方法，可克服当前在利用乳腺磁共振成像（MRI）进行乳腺密度定量评估方面的局限性。本研究的目的是开发一种针对患者的3D打印乳腺模型，并确定用于模拟纤维腺组织和脂肪组织磁共振成像特征的最合适材料。
使用3D打印技术生成针对患者的3D打印乳腺模型，用于构建空心皮肤和纤维腺区域外壳。然后，在3T MRI系统上测量五种选定材料（琼脂糖凝胶、含/不含鱼油的硅橡胶、硅油和花生油）的T1弛豫时间，以确定代表纤维腺组织和脂肪组织磁共振成像特征的合适材料。然后将结果与相应组织T1弛豫时间的参考值进行比较：分别为1324.42±167.63和449.27±26.09毫秒。最后，使用与各组织T1弛豫时间匹配的材料填充3D打印的空心乳腺外壳。
发现硅油和花生油的T1弛豫时间和成像特征与这两种组织非常相似，分别为1515.8±105.5和405.4±15.1毫秒。发现浓度范围为0.5至2.5 wt%的不同琼脂糖凝胶具有最长的T1弛豫时间。
成功设计并构建了一种针对患者的3D打印乳腺模型，使用硅油和花生油模拟纤维腺组织和脂肪组织的磁共振成像特征。该模型可用于研究不同的乳腺MRI成像方案，以进行乳腺密度的定量评估。
