Abstract

Ultrasound (US) anatomical imaging phantoms are crucial in medical imaging, training, and quality assurance. Our primary goal is to design and fabricate a versatile and realistic phantom, utilizing 3D printing, silicone moulds, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as critical materials. This work includes the creation of a PVA-based rat liver phantom that replicates the acoustic and mechanical properties of real tissue. It achieves a sound speed of $1,543 \pm 6 \mathrm{~m} / \mathrm{s}$, an acoustic impedance of $1.66 \pm 0.01$ Mrayl, attenuation coefficients of $0.09 \pm 0.01$ $\mathrm{dB} / \mathrm{cm} / \mathrm{MHz}$, and the density of the phantom is $1,070 \mathrm{~kg} / \mathrm{m}^{3}$, all falling within the established range observed of biological tissues. Our research introduces tissue-mimicking phantoms to fulfill researchers' needs for experimental dataset generation and in order to train clinicians for skill improvement. The PVA-based rat liver phantom brings new opportunities to US imaging, that benefit research and clinical practice.