title: Rapid prototyping of biomimetic vascular phantoms for hyperspectral reflectance imaging.
abstract: The emerging technique of rapid prototyping with three-dimensional (3-D) printers provides a simple yet revolutionary method for fabricating objects with arbitrary geometry. The use of 3-D printing for generating morphologically biomimetic tissue phantoms based on medical images represents a potentially major advance over existing phantom approaches. Toward the goal of image-defined phantoms, we converted a segmented fundus image of the human retina into a matrix format and edited it to achieve a geometry suitable for printing. Phantoms with vessel-simulating channels were then printed using a photoreactive resin providing biologically relevant turbidity, as determined by spectrophotometry. The morphology of printed vessels was validated by x-ray microcomputed tomography. Channels were filled with hemoglobin (Hb) solutions undergoing desaturation, and phantoms were imaged with a near-infrared hyperspectral reflectance imaging system. Additionally, a phantom was printed incorporating two disjoint vascular networks at different depths, each filled with Hb solutions at different saturation levels. Light propagation effects noted during these measurements—including the influence of vessel density and depth on Hb concentration and saturation estimates, and the effect of wavelength on vessel visualization depth—were evaluated. Overall, our findings indicated that 3-D-printed biomimetic phantoms hold significant potential as realistic and practical tools for elucidating light–tissue interactions and characterizing biophotonic system performance.
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, United States.
authors.forename: Pejhman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghassemi
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, United StatesbUniversity of Maryland, Fischell Department of Bioengineering, 3142 Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, Colle.
authors.forename: Jianting
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Fischell Department of Bioengineering, 3142 Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Melchiorri
authors.affiliation: Florida International University, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, E6 2610, 10555 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33174, United States.
authors.forename: Jessica C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ramella-Roman
authors.affiliation: The Catholic University of America, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, District of Columbia 20064, United States.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, United States.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Coburn
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States.
authors.forename: Brian S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Sorg
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Fischell Department of Bioengineering, 3142 Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, United States.
authors.forename: T Joshua
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Pfefer
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D032701:Biomimetics; D062028:Bioprinting; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D010092:Oximetry; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D012160:Retina / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins