Validation of the Polyvinyl Alcohol Cryogel with glycerol as a material for phantoms in magnetic resonance imaging

Low homogeneity is the main issue of Polyvinyl Alcohol Cryogel phantoms used in medical imaging. To address this problem we verify how addition of glycerol influence properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol Cryogel phantoms in magnetic resonance imaging. We study following factors: glycerol concentration, cryogel concentration and number of freeze-thaw cycles. We conclude that addition of glycerol to the Polyvinyl Alcohol Cryogel decreases spatial variability of its magnetic relaxation times. Number of freeze-thaw cycles has less impact on magnetic relaxation times in cryogel with glycerol as compared with pure Polyvinyl Alcohol Cryogel.