Objective: In this study an anthromorphic breast ultrasound phantom was developed and acoustically characterised. It is imperative that recent significant advances in the image quality of breast ultrasound systems be evaluated objectively. To this end, a breast phantom which contains glandular tissue, subcutaneous fat, subareolar tissue, cysts and ducts, lactiferous sinus, calcifications benign and malignant lesions was developed using novel tissue mimicking materials (TMM).
Methods: The TMMs developed in this study were based on a modification of the IEC agar-based material. This modification was necessary in order to achieve target materials that accurately mimic the different tissue within the breast. An in-house built acoustic macroscope was used to determine the speed of sound, attenuation coefficient and relative backscatter values of the different TMMs. The speed of sound values for the various tissue types were achieved by varying the percentage concentration of glycerol, while the attenuation coefficient and relative backscatter values were achieved by modifying the percentage concentrations of Al₂O₃ and SiC.
Results: The TMMs developed in this study were found to have acoustic properties similar to the values reported in the literature for breast tissue, with speed of sound values ranging from 1535–1570ms ^-1 12.5MHz at 22 degrees centigrade. Furthermore, a suitable fat mimicking material was also developed by adding safflower oil and surfactant to the agar based material.
Conclusion: A number of breast tissue mimicking materials were identified for the development of an anthropomorphic ultrasonic breast phantom for quality assurance and training purposes.