Characterization and Evaluation of a Hydrogel-PVC Aberrator Phantom

Tissue mimicking phantoms are important components for performance testing and characterization of medical ultrasound systems. This article aims to develop a viable phantom model that can represent the acoustic properties of a fatty abdominal wall, which degrades image quality in patients who are classified as hard-to-image. Scans on a standard ultrasound phantom in the presence of the aberrating layer has revealed a marked reduction in image quality metrics. Development of a phantom surrogate that can mimic clutter and aberration similar to the fat layer can help address imaging challenges.