Characterization, quantification, and replication of human sinus bone for surgery simulation phantoms

Abstract The requirement for artificial but realistic, tactile, anatomical models for surgical practice in medical simulation is increasingly evident and shows potential for greater efficiency and availability, and lower costs. Anatomically correct, detailed models with the physical surgical characteristics of real tissue, combined with the ability to reproduce one-off cases, would provide an invaluable tool in the development of surgery. This research work investigates the capture of geometrical and physical data from the human sinus to subsequently direct the production and optimization of such simulation phantoms. Micro-computed tomography analysis of the entire sinus was performed to characterize the sinus complex geometry. Following an extensive review, specialized mechanical testing apparatus and methods relevant to the surgical methods employed were designed and produced. This provided comparative analysis methods for both biological and artificial phantom materials and allowed the optimization of phantom materials with respect to the derived target values.