Experimental Phantoms

Phantoms are anthropomorphically shaped and loaded with tissue simulating materials for evaluation of over-the-air (OTA), specific absorption rate (SAR), and MRI performance, optimization of on-body and implant transceivers, and validation of simulations. The IT'IS Foundation develops customized phantoms together with SPEAG, and is an active contributor to the CTIA (American Wireless Association) OTA certification standards. Drawing from a wide range of recipes for tissue simulating liquids (TSL) and media, in-house manufacturing capabilities and collaborations with various plastic prototyping and manufacturing companies, and a wide range of characterization equipment, IT'IS leads phantom development for new technologies such as GPS and 5G, as well as functionalized phantoms for customized assessments.

The group's fabrication capabilities include a high precision mechanical shop and access to a variety of materials and production methods from injection molding to 3D printing. The IT'IS exposure assessment laboratories are equipped with the most advanced tools, including the latest DASY8 RX90L, and a wide range of specialized probes. Together with SPEAG, the IT'IS foundation has developed the DAK and DAK-TL tools to characterize the dielectric properties of tissues as well as tissue simulating materials. With more than 100 SemCAD/Sim4Life licenses, including the Virtual Population 3.x/4.x and multiple animal models, and several High Performance Computers (HPC) ranging from Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) clusters to supercomputers, our interdisciplinary research team can produced simulation-aided phantom designs for target applications – while ensuring compliance to national and international standards.

• Developed phantoms for OTA certification of mobile phones and wireless body-worn devices, in close collaboration with CTIA working groups;
• Developed a customized multi-tissue layered phantom for OTA testing a commercial neck-worn device;
• Developed a torso phantom with built-in sensors to measure MRI-induced fields, in collaboration with a major manufacturer;
• Developed a generic layered phantom for the evaluation of diagnostic tools for detection of pneumothorax in patients. The phantom offers the possibility of introducing an air-like layer between the lung and fat tissues and is validated with Sim4Life simulations. Customized tissue-simulating liquids for inflated and deflated lung and two types of fat tissue were developed for use in this phantom;
• Developed a customized carbon-loaded silicone head/ear phantom for investigation of hearing aid devices in collaboration with a major hearing aid manufacture. The phantom enabled testing the device directly against the conductive human skin, investigation of ear to ear propagation and communication with a remote unit and testing on different head/ear sizes as requested by the manufacturer.

IT'IS produces layered phantoms with multiple tissues to represent specific body cross-sections, representing the thicknesses of skin, fat, muscle, organs, blood, and bone; solid, semi-solid, or liquid materials can be used. Sensors can be implanted within the phantom at different positions and layers, while organs or tissues with specific properties for observation, such as tumors, can be added. Finally, validation phantoms of various geometries and compositions may be prepared for comparison with simulations, and fitted with sensors for integrated measurements. IT'IS works together with its partners to together define relevant features that should be represented in the phantom to meet their development and validation needs.

We look forward to discussing with you how we can best support your R&D initiatives and regulatory submissions – simply call us at +41 44 245 96 96 or send us an email at customized@itis.swiss.