(C-103) Bladder Phantom Development for Testing Accuracy of Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT) Instrumentation

Introduction::

Bladder cancer (BC) often requires the removal of cancerous tissue through transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) procedures. Implementation of instruments to perform these procedures demands extensive testing both in vitro and in vivo. To accurately test the in vivo performance of these instruments, bladders are extracted from cystectomy cases and tested post-removal. Bladder phantoms have been created previously for the purpose of endoscopic training, however, they fail to mimic the mechanical function of the bladder wall and tumor tissue. Thus, a phantom bladder with realistic bladder wall mechanics and electrical properties was created to provide an accurate, yet time and cost-effective solution to instrumentation testing.

Materials and Methods::

Phantom materials:

The phantom consisted of a soft hydrogel under different concentrations to achieve the desired mechanical properties.

Phantom testing:

Hydrogel compositions were tested in 25mm by 4mm molds using a rheometer. Data was extracted and used to measure the compressive modulus in each sample. MatLab was used to characterize graphs and record the stress vs strain curve.

3D Phantom Bladder Filling Simulation:

The phantom was modeled in SolidWorks with appropriate layer thicknesses and modulus. The model was subjected to a pressure to demonstrate bladder filling capacities at 100mL 200mL, 300mL, 400mL, and 500mL.

3D Phantom Mold:

The phantom mold was created from a segmented bladder MRI and converted into a SolidWorks model. Subsequent molds were created by scaling the size to accommodate bladder layer thicknesses. 

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: Final results and discussions will be concluded at the end of the internship. Data has proved hydrogel concentrations can be characterized to mimic the mechanical properties of measured bladder wall layers from a porcine bladder. Phantom provides a suitable substitute for initial instrumentation testing, but requires further data to best simulate bladder filling.

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