Realistic Simulation of Breast Tissue Microstructure in Software Anthropomorphic Phantoms

Software anthropomorphic breast phantoms have been used in virtual clinical trials for preclinical validation of breast imaging systems. Virtual trial quality depends largely on the realism of the simulated breast anatomy. Our phantom design has been focused on the simulation of large-scale and mesoscale anatomical structures, including the breast outline, skin, and matrix of Cooper’s ligaments and tissue compartments. Realism of such a design has been confirmed in comparative studies of phantom and clinical power spectra and parenchymal texture. We present a novel method for simulating the hierarchical organization of breast tissue subcompartments, seen in detailed histological images. The subcompartmentalization introduces microstructure in breast phantoms, resulting in improved realism of phantom images. The qualitative validation of phantoms with simulated microstructure is discussed in this paper; the quantitative validation in ongoing.