title: Development of a composite material phantom mimicking the magnetic resonance parameters of the neonatal brain at 3.0 Tesla.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Development of a composite material phantom, comprised of polyvinyl alcohol cryogel (PVA-C) and an agarose additive, to effectively mimic the magnetic resonance relaxation times (T1 and T2) of neonatal white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) at 3.0 T.
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples of PVA-C with and without agarose were prepared with 1 cycle of freezing/thawing. Measurements of T1 and T2, at 3.0 T, were performed on the samples at temperatures ranging from 20 degrees C to 40 degrees C.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A sample temperature of 40 degrees C was required to achieve a T1 value sufficiently long to represent neonatal WM. At this temperature, neonatal WM relaxation times required 3% PVA-C with 0.3% agarose, whereas gray matter relaxation times required 8% PVA-C with 1.4% agarose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By adjusting the sample temperature, polyvinyl alcohol concentration, and agarose concentration, the relaxation times of neonatal brain tissues can be obtained using this composite material.
authors.affiliation: Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Timothy N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paliy
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: R Terry
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gelman
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008420:Manufactured Materials; D008422:Materials Testing; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging