Classification of phantoms for medical imaging: The 33rd CIRP Design Conference

Phantoms are physical models that mimic biological tissue and its properties in medical imaging. They play an important role in medical quality assurance, research, education, and training, since they can offer an adequate test environment. As the use of medical imaging modalities is a growing field in medicine phantoms are likewise evolving very rapidly. The variety of these phantoms is as wide as the modalities and applications, thus ranging from simple to highly detailed in the representation of anatomy. The objective of this paper is to propose a categorization of the objects defined under the term “phantom” in the literature, to reduce the misuse of this term and maintain a common understanding of the topic as well as ensure that future research efforts are based on solid foundations. This field of expertise is driven by the connection between engineering design and the field of medical technology since engineers are essential in the development of phantoms and require a clear understanding of terminology and applications. Based on a literature analysis a novel classification into distinct categories for phantoms, consisting of possible purposes, applications, manufacturing techniques, and custom design features, is developed.