SMD/Materials/Polyvinyl alcohol

▼This page is a material entry for the SELF Materials Database.It provides useful context about materials and its uses in surgical education. Feel free to improve this page or submit a new entry.

This page provides a growing list of tissues that can be simulated using this material.

PVA hydrogel can simulate a range of human tissues with tunable mechanical properties. By adjusting PVA concentration (5%~15%) and freeze-thaw cycles (1~8 times), the elastic modulus can be varied from 2 to 146 kPa.

Tissues successfully simulated:

• Prostate and surrounding pelvic organs - for ultrasound-guided needle biopsy training (Gautam et al., 2021)
• The material is ultrasound-compatible and produces clear B-mode images

• PVA-based prostate biopsy training phantom (TRUS guided)

: A tissue-mimicking phantom made of PVA hydrogel for simulated transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy training. The elastic modulus is tunable (2~146 kPa) by adjusting PVA concentration (5%~15%) and freeze-thaw cycles. Ultrasound-compatible with clear B-mode imaging.
: Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1350453321000989
: Research team: Gautam U.C. et al., IIT Delhi (2021)
: Keywords: PVA hydrogel / prostate phantom / ultrasound-guided biopsy / surgical training