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Exclusive: Phantom manufacturers talk trends

by Loren Bonner, DOTmed News Online Editor | July 23, 2012
From the July 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


However, manufacturers rely on phantoms most often and for a variety of purposes. OEMs use them in production quality control, service, R&D and pre-clinical trials to make sure equipment is being built and maintained correctly. The NEMA PET Phantoms and NEMA SPECT Phantoms from Data Spectrum are designed in accordance with the recommendations of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association to standardize these types of installations.

Collaboration is key
In recent years, CIRS has responded to concerns over managing patient motion during radiation therapy through new product development. The Dynamic Thorax Phantom is an example of this effort.



“The Company develops products by staying abreast of emerging technologies and by having close relationships with the leading medical imaging researchers and academic organizations,” says Devlin.

Phantom companies have seen a growing demand in custom designs in recent years. They collaborate with OEMs that, in most cases, need a unique product for a specific application.

“I think the future is in custom phantoms because of these combined modalities like PET/MR and SPECT/CT,” says Monica Jaszczak, general manager for Data Spectrum. The company sells phantoms for PET, PET/CT and SPECT, but has increasingly worked on custom phantoms for clients.

Devlin says the increase in the number of products that must be compatible with multiple modalities such as MR, CT and ultrasound is definitely a change.

“This has required development of new and highly sophisticated tissue equivalent materials. Our products have also evolved from geometric simplifications of the human anatomy to being developed with proprietary biomodeling techniques where by the phantoms are derived from specific patient data sets,” he says.

As medicine and technology continue to evolve, these collaborations can’t be overlooked. “We listen to the community and respond,” says Jaszczak.

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