Design and fabrication of a 3D-printed anthropomorphic heart model to investigate myocardial perfusion

Abstract

Background: The demand for custom medical phantoms has driven advancements in 3D-printing within nuclear medicine. This study focused on fabricating a 3D-printed anthropomorphic left ventricular heart phantom for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and evaluating its performance on SPECT and MyoSPECT systems. Objectives: The main objectives were: (1) Identify optimal 3D-printing materials/parameters for a waterproof phantom, (2) Compare MyoSPECT and traditional SPECT imaging, and (3) Assess the best dose protocols for clinical imaging. Research Methodology: A heart phantom was designed using Fused deposition modeling (FDM) with PETG, postprocessed for waterproofing, and imaged with SPECT/MyoSPECT at varying doses. Statistical analysis was performed to compare imaging quality. Results: The study found that PETG provided the best results for producing watertight phantoms. The MyoSPECT system outperformed conventional SPECT, particularly at lower doses, showing superior imaging quality and defect detectability. Statistical analysis also revealed differences in certain heart segments Conclusions and Recommendations: This study demonstrates the potential of 3D-printed phantoms in nuclear medicine. MyoSPECT offers better imaging. Recommendations include integrating 3D printing for personalized phantoms and optimizing dose protocols. Future research should explore advanced 3D-printing methods and thoracic phantom simulations.