Elasticity and Echogenicity Analysis of Agarose Phantoms Mimicking Liver Tumors

For ultrasound elastography there currently existsno large animal model of liver lesions for testing. In this study, we modeled liver lesions using agarose gel, characterizing thephantoms´ elastic and echogenic properties. An equation wasderived to express a phantom´s Young´s modulus as a functionof its agarose concentration. Moreover, we altered phantoms´echogenicities by adding various amounts of graphite, and foundthat its inclusion up to 2% does not significantly affectelasticity. These findings can help to systematically createdesired liver tumor phantoms for numerous studies.