Development Of Lung Phantoms for Detection Of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Abstract: The goal of this project was to fabricate a deflated and an inflated phantom to replicate how the human lung tissues’ permittivity changes under a pathological condition for instance acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Furthermore, the lung phantom should be shaped like real human lungs. We started with the design of the lung shapes using SOLIDWORKS design software, so that they could be printed as 3D shapes using 3D printers. We obtained lung-shaped molds in both inflated and deflated states, a lung phantom that is affordable, and electrically stable was fabricated utilizing a semi-solid Artificial Tissue Emulating (ATE) material. After completing the manufacturing of the lung phantoms, they were poured into the previous molds to take the true shape of the human lungs. After obtaining the final 3D representative human lung model, we measured the electrical properties of the models and compared them to the properties of real human lungs, which are important when used for safety testing of electrical devices for medical applications. An open coaxial electrical equipment system called (Keysight) with a frequency range of 500 MHz to 20 GHz ultra-wideband (UWB) was used to measure relative permittivity and loss tangent. A lung phantom was used to perform these tests, where the presentation of that lung phantom and the electrical characteristics of the selected lung phantom were compared to the properties of human lung tissues. The dielectric characteristics of the material can change by changing the constituent mix (semi-solid ATE mix), where the materials chosen for the phantom manufacturer are effectively accessible, more affordable, non-toxic in nature. In conclusion we fabricated an accurate semi-solid lung phantom which imitates electrical and physical properties of human lung tissues in both cases, inflated and deflated.