Phantom and method for evaluating calcium scoring

A phantom for evaluating substance scoring, the scoring based on images of an object having regions of interest due to possible presence of the substance, said phantom comprising:

• a core, wherein said core comprises a CT number representative of heart of heart muscle density;
• a ring surrounding said core, wherein said ring comprises a CT number representative of density of tissue surrounding a heart;
• and
• a plurality of volumes comprising a plurality of rods embedded in said core, each said volume simulating a region of interest.

A phantom for evaluating substance scoring, the scoring based on images of an object having regions of interest due to possible presence of the substance, said phantom comprising:

• a core;
• a plurality of volumes comprising a plurality of rods embedded in said core, each said volume simulating a region of interest and each said volume comprises a target CT number representative of a density of the substance within the region of interest simulated by said volume;
• and
• a substance scoring to be evaluated using a scoring algorithm and each said target CT number reflects a substance density range utilized by the scoring algorithm, wherein the substance being scored is calcium and said target CT numbers reflect substance density ranges of zero to 129 Hounsfield unites, 130 to 199 Hounsfield unites, 200 to 299 Hounsfield units, 300 to 399 Hounsfield unites, and greater than or equal to 400 Hounsfield units.

A phantom for evaluating substance scoring, the scoring based on images of an object having regions of interest due to possible presence of the substance, said phantom comprising:

• a core;
• a plurality of volumes comprising a plurality of rods embedded in said core, each said volume simulating a region of interest;
• and
• a phantom axis around which said rods are embedded in a plurality of radial lines, wherein said radial lines extend from said phantom axis at angles of zero degrees, 45 degrees, 135 degrees, 180 degrees, 225 degrees, and 315 degrees.

A phantom for evaluating substance scoring, the scoring based on images of an object having regions of interest due to possible presence of the substance, said phantom comprising:

• a core;
• a phantom axis and an alignment region adjacent to said core, the alignment region extending from said core in a phantom-axis direction;
• and
• a plurality of volumes comprising a plurality of rods embedded in said core, each said volume simulating a region of interest.