The use of tissue mimicking phantoms in analysing contrast in THz pulsed imaging of biological tissue

In this study, tissue mimicking phantoms for the THz regime were developed to aid the current understanding of contrast mechanisms of tissue with THz pulsed imaging (TPI). The phantoms, compromising mixtures of water and protein, mimic biological tissue in both spatial and spectroscopic regimes. THz spectroscopy of the individual phantom constituents was compared with reflection measurements of phantoms of varying compositions. Phantom composition was varied enabling the emulation of specific tissue properties, thus allowing the analysis of parameters such as the error with which discreet components can be identified; 7.5% for low gelatin concentration gels and 17% for higher concentration gels. Identifying this uncertainty is important when imaging tissues that have surface features not obvious to other techniques such as visible imaging of dysplasia.