Physical properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL) gel materials as phantoms for mammography

Abstract This study evaluates the possibility of using polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL) composites as phantom material to simulate different densities breast tissue for mammography based on their elastic properties. Three categories PVAL gels were prepared by freezing and thawing 10 % water (PVAL), ethanol (PVAL/E) a blend with graphite powder (PVAL/G) solutions mimic various densities. Young’s modulus (YM) all samples was evaluated puncture test texture analyser. The results recorded ranged from 0.93 4.79 kPa samples. indicate that phantoms examined could be used fatty dense tissues values YM.