Open AccessT 1-mapping and dielectric properties evaluation of a 3D printable rubber-elastomeric polymer as tissue mimicking materials for MRI phantoms
Author(s) -
Lotfi Talalwa,
Ghaleb Natour,
Andreas Bauer,
Alexander Drzezga,
Ali Gordji-Nejad,
Simone Beer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
materials research express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.383
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2053-1591
DOI - 10.1088/2053-1591/abc76f
Subject(s) - elastomer , materials science , polymer , natural rubber , auxetics , biomedical engineering , 3d printing , dielectric , high contrast , composite material , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , optics , medicine , physics
In this study, a new series of 3D printable rubber-elastomeric polymer called PORO-LAY materials have been investigated regarding their suitability to serve as tissue mimicking materials (TMMs) for MRI phantoms. PORO-LAY materials have been previously used in biofuel cell developments, particle filtrations and modeling elastic tissues. We evaluated the electrical permittivity, electrical conductivity, spin-lattice T 1 -relaxation time and acquired the MRI contrast for simple and multi-material complex 3D printed shapes made of PORO-LAY materials at 3.0 T. The results showed a T 1 diversity within PORO-LAY materials, which reveals in different MR image contrasts. The outcome favors PORO-LAY as an appropriate candidate that can be used in multi-materials additive manufacturing to produce realistic shapes such as white/grey matter structures for MRI phantoms with visible clear contrast. Finally, this study could serve as a reference and guideline when using these materials as tissue mimicking materials for different types of human body tissues and provide a promising opportunity to design novel phantoms for a wide range of MRI applications.