Photoacoustic investigation of a neonatal skull phantom

There is a need for continued research into the diagnosis, prevention and cure of neonatal brain disease and disorders. These disorders lead to fatalities and developmental disorders in infants. Non-invasive imaging techniques are being researched for this purpose. However, the availability of neonatal skull samples for this work is very low. A phantom can be used to simulate the neonatal skull and brain to improve imaging techniques. This study selects a phantom of polyurethane and titanium dioxide and proves its value as a replacement for neonatal skull in research. The methods used for this proof are validation of choice against the literature, transmissivity and acoustic experimentation compared to existing literature, and finally photoacoustic evaluation of the final choice to show its usefulness as a neonatal skull phantom.