POLYVINYL-ALCOHOL CRYOGEL - AN IDEAL PHANTOM MATERIAL FOR MR STUDIES OF ARTERIAL FLOW AND ELASTICITY

The authors present a unique application of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) cr yogel as an anthropomorphic, elastic, vascular phantom material that c an be used in MR imaging. The composition consists of two nontoxic ing redients: water and PVA. The biomechanical and MR properties can be ad justed to be similar to those of excised porcine aortas by varying the number of freeze-thaw cycles to which the PVA solution is exposed. Th e authors present the T-1, T-2, shrinkage, and tensile properties of P VA cryogel tubes as a function of freeze-thaw cycles. MR images of a d ual elastic aortic phantom undergoing pulsatile motion are shown.