Liquid and agar fluorophore phantom
AssigneeSynaptive Medical Inc.
InventorsMichael Frank Gunter Wood, Eva Romy Dow Chapman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A phantom is disclosed containing fluorescence properties similar to anatomy that is needed to be visualized during surgical procedures. The phantom is created using substances including fluorophores that respond to UV light excitation to give visual cues of the phantom. The phantom can vary in phase and fluorescent properties depending on what it needs to simulate in the medical field with the purpose to help train users for surgical and diagnostic procedures, and develop, enhance, and calibrate imaging technology.
Claims13
A method for forming a solid phantom for training users of fluorescence imaging, the method comprising the steps of:
- mixing agar powder with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) to form a gel material;
- heating the gel material to a temperature sufficient to form an agar solution;
- allowing the heated agar solution to cool but not solidify;
- adding a fluorophore stock solution comprising one or more of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX), indocyanine green (ICG), or sodium fluorescein at a concentration effective to simulate a surgical procedure in a clinical setting;
- adding one or more optical scattering agents selected from porcine blood, an intravenous fat emulsion, or a polysorbate;
- pouring the mixture from the mixing and adding steps into a mold representative of an anatomical feature;
- and
- refrigerating the mold for a time sufficient to allow solidifying and phantom formation;
- wherein the solid phantom emits fluorescence when excited at a wavelength of interest.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.