title: Development of MRI phantom equivalent to human tissues for 3.0-T MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A 3.0-T MRI phantom (called the CAGN-3.0T phantom) having human-equivalent relaxation times and human-equivalent conductivity was developed.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ingredients of the phantom are carrageenan (as a gelatinizer), agarose (as a T2-relaxation modifier), GdCl3 (as a T1-relaxation modifier), NaCl (as a conductivity modifier), and NaN3 (as an antiseptic). Numerous samples with varying concentrations of agarose, GdCl3, and NaCl were prepared, and T1 and T2 values were measured using 3.0-T MRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The T1 values of the CAGN-3.0T phantom were unaffected by NaCl, while the T2 values were only slightly affected. Based on the measured data, empirical formulae were devised to express the relationships between the concentrations of agarose, GdCl3, and NaCl and the relaxation times. The formula for expressing the conductivity of the CAGN-3.0T phantom was obtained.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By adjustments to the concentrations of agarose, GdCl3, and NaCl, the relaxation times and conductivity of almost all types of human tissues can be simulated by CAGN-3.0T phantoms. The phantoms have T1 values of 395-2601 ms, T2 values of 29-334 ms, and conductivity of 0.27-1.26 S/m when concentrations of agarose, GdCl3, and NaCl are varied from 0 to 2.0 w/w%, 0 to 180 μmol/kg, and 0 to 0.7 w/w%, respectively. The CAGN-3.0T phantom has sufficient strength to replicate the torso without using reinforcing agents, and can be cut with a knife into any shape.
authors: Department of Radiology, Nagoya Memorial Hospital, Nagoya, Aichi 468-0011, Japan.
authors: Kengo
authors: K
authors: Hattori
authors: Yusuke
authors: Y
authors: Ikemoto
authors: Wataru
authors: W
authors: Takao
authors: Seiichiro
authors: S
authors: Ohno
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Harimoto
authors: Susumu
authors: S
authors: Kanazawa
authors: Masataka
authors: M
authors: Oita
authors: Koichi
authors: K
authors: Shibuya
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: Kuroda
authors: Hirokazu
authors: H
authors: Kato
mesh_terms: D017097:Electric Impedance; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012685:Sepharose / Q000737:chemistry; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride; D012685:Sepharose; D005682:Gadolinium; C038958:gadolinium chloride