Fabrication and validation of a detailed anthropomorphic oculo-orbital phantom based on novel tissue-equivalent materials for diagnostic radiology

This study presents the fabrication and validation of an anthropomorphic oculo-orbital phantom incorporating detailed ocular structures based on novel epoxy-based tissue-equivalent materials for diagnostic radiology. Dedicated formulations were developed to simulate orbital bone, extraocular muscle, optic nerve, and crystalline lens, including 65% epoxy–35% CaCO 3 , pure epoxy resin, 92% epoxy–8% acetone, and 93% epoxy–7% NaHCO 3 , respectively. The developed materials were evaluated through mass attenuation coefficient, effective atomic number, electron density, and computed tomography (CT) number measurements. The results demonstrated good agreement between the fabricated materials and the corresponding reference tissues over the diagnostic energy range. CT measurements further confirmed the suitability of the proposed materials, with Hounsfield Unit values closely matching those obtained from clinical examinations. These findings support the use of the developed phantom as a realistic and cost-effective tool for CT dosimetry, protocol optimization, and quality assurance applications in diagnostic radiology.