Development of Silicone-Based Vascular Ultrasound Phantom: An Instructional Material

Abstract

This study determined the accuracy of a silicone-based phantom as an instructional material for vascular ultrasound. Three silicone rubber samples (200g) with varying silicone thinner concentrations (5%:10g. 10%:20g, and 15%:30g) were developed as part of prototype testing, each was embedded with ultrasoft epoxy resin vessels (8x12mm and 10x12mm) with water. Experimental research design was employed to assess each sample in terms of physical properties, including appearance, surface texture, durability, elasticity, and curing time. Aside from that, tissue-like softness, echogenicity, as well as ultrasound imaging performance in terms of probe positions (longitudinal and transverse) and movements (sliding and tilting). Findings revealed that increasing the concentration of silicone thinner improved tissue-like softness and elasticity, however, it reduced the durability and imaging capability. Moreover, it revealed that the thicker the ultrasoft resin vessel the lower its reflectivity and harder for ultrasound waves to pass through. Based on the results, the 5% concentration of silicone thinner produced the most stable and well-defined weasel visualization across the probe positions and movements, the 10% concentration demonstrated moderate performance in all aspects, while 15% concentration revealed the poorest image property. Overall, the silicone-based phantom demonstrated potential as an effective instructional material in vascular ultrasound, with the 5% silicone thinner concentration and 10x12mm ultrasoft epoxy resin vessel size as the optimal configuration.