Criteria for the design of tissue-mimicking phantoms for the standardization of biophotonic instrumentation

Standardized technical validation of biophotonic devices is indispensable for the reliability and reproducibility of measurement results in their medical use. This requires suitable standardized phantoms, i.e., tissue-like test specimens, and recognized standards for evaluating the performance of these devices. Both prerequisites are not sufficiently met in the field of medical optical imaging. A study has now identified ways to address this shortcoming. It provides an overview of available materials and phantom design and evaluates their suitability for this purpose. In detail, examples from three methods currently relevant to clinical implementation are considered: Diffuse Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy, Fluorescence Assisted Surgery, and Photoacoustic Imaging. Based on existing experience, general recommendations and criteria are formulated on how to better address the challenges of standardization.

Publication

Hacker L, Wabnitz H, Pifferi A, Pfefer TJ, Pogue BW, Bohndiek SE <br/> Criteria for the design of tissue-mimicking phantoms for the standardization of biophotonic instrumentation

Nature Biomedical Engineering 6 (2022) ; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-022-00890-6