Better Understanding the Trends

What is a phantom? Who uses them?

Phantoms are used all over the world to help with medical imaging and aid in enhancing the efficiency of imaging devices used by medical experts. They are an integral part of elevating patient care and making sure that medical imaging is being done correctly and accurately. So, who uses phantom medical imaging, and what are the trends? To better understand who uses phantom technology, we first need to define what a phantom actually does.

What is a phantom?

An imaging phantom or “phantom” is a scientific device that is often used in the biomedical research community. A phantom is a specially designed object that is utilized as a “stand-in” for human tissue and can be scanned or imaged to evaluate, analyze, and fine-tune the performance of an imaging device. Created out of Acrylic PMMA and water, a phantom mimics the photon properties of human tissue, which means the material will respond in a similar manner to how human tissues and organs would act under the specific imaging modality. The corresponding image of the phantom demonstrates that the evaluating system is working as intended, and the imaging system’s functionality is at optimal performance.

What medical imaging can be done with a phantom?

While phantoms were originally developed with 2-D x-ray imaging in mind, the field has rapidly grown over the years to encompass 3-D characteristics and techniques. With a wide range of uses, phantoms can be used with the following:

• X-ray/Radiography
• Ultrasound
• Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Combined medical imaging systems

Who uses phantoms?

Phantoms are used to provide reliable and quantitative information to compare imaging systems used in a real-world setting, ensure the accurate evaluations of medical conditions, and make sure that patients are receiving quality care. Due to their scientific and medical nature, they are often utilized in hospitals around the globe. According to the study completed by Grand View Research, hospitals dominated the medical imaging phantom market in 2019 due to the favorable government initiatives to improve treatment offered to patients, and the steep rise in medical reimbursement policies. Academic and Research Institutes also utilize phantoms and have experienced steady growth over the years. Academia works with medical imaging phantoms for educational purposes in regards to 1) providing efficient training for both medical imaging and 2) the proper usage of these phantoms when dealing with medical imaging. Diagnostic and Reference Laboratories also use phantoms to help with the proper running of clinical tests to gain relevant information about the health of a patient when dealing with diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Medical Device Companies utilize phantoms to help develop medical instruments used to diagnose and prevent various medical conditions.

What do these trends mean?

With the global medical imaging phantoms market expected to reach 212.4 million dollars by 2027, the phantoms industry is steadily growing, and so is the demand for advances with the technology. To better understand who uses the medical imaging phantoms, it is imperative to understand who the phantom market needs to serve when it comes to product development. At Data Spectrum Corporation, we have been focused on creating molecular imaging phantoms that enable Medical Imaging Professionals the ability to evaluate their image resolution standards. With a wide range of uses, our phantoms can help those with acceptance testing, quality control, and for research purposes. From hospitals to academic research, we got the industry covered when it comes to our high-quality products.

Want to learn more about phantoms?

If you want to learn more about what a phantom does and how it works, take a look at the following blogs.

• What is a phantom? How does it work?