Mechanical properties of human hepatic tissues to develop liver-mimicking phantoms for medical applications

Abstract

Using liver phantoms for mimicking human tissue in clinical training, disease diagnosis, and treatment planning is a common practice. The fabrication material of the liver phantom should exhibit mechanical properties similar to those of the real liver organ in the human body. This tissue-equivalent material is essential for qualitative and quantitative investigation of the liver mechanisms in producing nutrients, excretion of waste metabolites, and tissue deformity at mechanical stimulus. This paper reviews the mechanical properties of human hepatic tissues to develop liver-mimicking phantoms. These properties include viscosity, elasticity, acoustic impedance, sound speed, and attenuation. The advantages and disadvantages of the most common fabrication materials for developing liver tissue-mimicking phantoms are also highlighted. Such phantoms will give a better insight into the real tissue damage during the disease progression and preservation for transplantation. The liver tissue-mimicking phantom will raise the quality assurance of patient diagnostic and treatment precision and offer a definitive clinical trial data collection.