Design and measurement of 3D printed variable-morphology and variable-density breast phantoms for mammography and breast CT dose assessment

Design and measurement of 3D printed variable-morphology and variable-density breast phantoms for mammography and breast CT dose assessment | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Design and measurement of 3D printed variable-morphology and variable-density breast phantoms for mammography and breast CT dose assessment Catherine Paverd, Gianluca Piol, Davide Cester This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8406754/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Accurate dose quantification across radiation-based breast imaging techniques is important for patient safety, but currently available phantoms do not easily allow the assessment of the impact of breast size and density across modalities. Here we design, produce and validate 3D printed, variable-morphology, fillable phantoms for the purpose of radiation dose measurements and comparison studies. Three representative breast shapes (small, medium, large) were exported from real BCT data. Corresponding compressed shapes were generated following the Virtual Imaging Clinical Trials for Regulatory Evaluation (VICTRE) pipeline, in which morphology is controlled through 10 separate length and deformation parameters, optimized to match uncompressed phantom volumes. Surface models of each shape were printed using a 3D printer (Stratasys F370-3D, alphacam GmbH). Four mixtures, representative of BI-RADS categories A-D, were prepared using varying ratios of 1.5% agar, rapeseed oil, and soy lecithin, poured into the printed surface models, and set overnight at 4°C. Pre-calibrated MOSFET dosimeters were placed on the irradiated surface of each phantom to measure Entrance Surface Dose (ESD). Compressed phantoms in all sizes and densities were successfully measured in a mammography device (Senographe Essential, GE Healthcare, DE). Uncompressed phantoms in all sizes and in three of the four densities were successfully measured in a BCT device (nu:view, Advanced Breast-CT). Measured ESD matched the values obtained with Monte Carlo simulations; for the unit equipped with automatic exposure control, the ESD increased with increasing breast size and with increasing breast density, confirming the known correlation between thickness, density and ESD and validating the capabilities of the proposed phantoms to represent breasts with real physical properties. 3D-Printed Phantoms Breast Computed Tomography Mammography Monte Carlo Simulation Radiation Protection Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files 20251224BreastPhantomsMAandBCT3DPrintInMedOnlySupp.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8406754","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610217791,"identity":"c9f0f3cb-96a9-4ff0-ac51-eba0f7b2bb76","order_by":0,"name":"Catherine Paverd","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University Hospital Zurich","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Catherine","middleName":"","lastName":"Paverd","suffix":""},{"id":610217792,"identity":"0446134a-711b-46a0-ae48-6feaeb8299c1","order_by":1,"name":"Gianluca Piol","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Zurich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gianluca","middleName":"","lastName":"Piol","suffix":""},{"id":610217793,"identity":"9887956c-bbd3-4bc5-a322-037faf2cce1d","order_by":2,"name":"Davide Cester","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University Hospital Zurich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Davide","middleName":"","lastName":"Cester","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-19 17:16:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8406754/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8406754/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105565274,"identity":"fa43220e-8a17-45ce-b628-e20d189a0db8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:52:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1599583,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"20251224BreastPhantomsMAandBCT3DPrintInMedMainManuscriptOnly.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8406754/v1_covered_49c50ac9-a95b-4c77-8163-05e61cdcb22a.pdf"},{"id":105354623,"identity":"dad3a18d-a558-4860-a2f3-dfcdeaedd306","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-25 06:32:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":2400528,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"20251224BreastPhantomsMAandBCT3DPrintInMedOnlySupp.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8406754/v1/049930ef03e40e7f1714c16c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Design and measurement of 3D printed variable-morphology and variable-density breast phantoms for mammography and breast CT dose assessment","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"3d-printing-in-medicine","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"tdpm","sideBox":"Learn more about [3D Printing in Medicine](https://threedmedprint.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"41205","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/41205/3","title":"3D Printing in Medicine","twitterHandle":"@BioMedCentral","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"3D-Printed Phantoms, Breast Computed Tomography, Mammography, Monte Carlo Simulation, Radiation Protection","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8406754/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8406754/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAccurate dose quantification across radiation-based breast imaging techniques is important for patient safety, but currently available phantoms do not easily allow the assessment of the impact of breast size and density across modalities. 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