Purpose: We have investigated a new technology for fabricating phantoms with fine details for use in small-animal imaging.
Procedures: We used a high-resolution, 3-D stereolithography (SL) system to produce performance-evaluation phantoms such as cold-rod Derenzo, hot-channel Derenzo, and Defrise phantoms. SL performance was estimated by measuring the dimensions of many structures using a microscope. We also evaluated the degree of water absorption by two different SL resins, Somos 11120 and Accura 40, after curing.
Results: The average bias and precision of the cold-rod structures over the size range 0.5 to 1.0 mm, were -0.4% and 1.74%, respectively. The water absorption study showed that Somos 11120 is a more suitable material for nuclear medicine applications.
Conclusion: We have demonstrated that SL is a robust and accurate method for fabrication of phantoms for small-animal imaging systems.