The development and characterization of a novel yet simple 3D printed tool to facilitate phantom imaging of photoacoustic contrast agents

•A 3D printed phantom was designed and fabricated to validate photoacoustic contrast agents.•Methylene blue was used as a contrast agent to validate the performance metrics of the phantom under the PA imaging system.•The signal inherent to different types of tubing was quantified.•India Ink and lipids were added to the media to simulate tissue absorption.•The signal at multiple distances from the laser focal point was measured.

We report a new approach to preparing phantoms using 3D printing. This device supports plastic tubing containing the contrast agent and is immersed in a solution with absorption or scattering properties that mimic tissue. Up to 12 tubing samples could be placed in the device with sample-to-sample spacing as low as 0.3 mm and at a constant distance from the transducer (±0.16 mm), which is critical in validating photoacoustic contrast agents. We also studied different types of tubing and found that tubing with a larger outside diameter has more inherent signal. Both 40% India Ink and lipids in the immersion media modulated the signal. Finally, we created a depth phantom and found that signal decayed following a linear relationship (R2 = 0.997) with respect to distance from the focal point. We include computer-assisted drafting code the community can use to print this phantom or customized versions of this phantom.

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