TITLE:
The Ring Vortex: Concepts for a Novel Complex Flow Phantom for Medical Imaging
AUTHORS:
Simone Ferrari, Simone Ambrogio, Adrian Walker, Prashant Verma, Andrew J. Narracott, Iain Wilkinson, John W. Fenner
KEYWORDS:
Imaging, Phantom, Flow, Vortex
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Imaging,
Vol.7 No.1,
March
3,
2017
ABSTRACT: Calibration of medical imaging systems that provide quantitative measures relating to complex physiological flows is challenging. Physical test objects available for the purpose either offer a known simple flow far removed from the complexity of pathology (e.g. parabolic flow in a straight pipe) or complex relevant flows in which the details of the flow behaviour are unknown. This paper presents the ring vortex as a candidate for a complex flow phantom, since it is marked by inherently complex flow features that are controllable, predictable, reproducible and stable. These characteristics are demonstrated by a combination of analytical, numerical (CFD) and experimental methods. Together they provide a consistent perspective on ring vortex behaviour and highlight qualities relevant to phantom design. Discussion of the results indicates that a liquid phantom based on the ring vortex may have merit as a complex flow phantom for multimodal imaging. Furthermore, availability of such a flow reference may also serve as a benchmark for quality assurance of simulation methodologies.