? Efforts to establish MRA as clinically practical are hampered by lack of realistic beating heart flow phantom. We propose to develop an enhanced Coronary Artery Disease (eCAD) phantom for use by MR researchers, developers and medical equipment manufacturers, eCAD combines advanced features from previously introduced technology with innovative design, materials and processing to create a controlled environment which reproduces clinical conditions. This will be accomplished by: 1) developing functional cardiac structures based on clinical data, 2) combining structures with advanced materials, processing and modular infrastructure to reproduce cardiac functionality, 3) verifying eCAD is anatomically accurate with proper flow patterns and motion under pulsatile flow conditions and 4) demonstrating prototype reproducibility, stability and commercial potential during extended evaluations in academic and industrial environments. Design optimization and manufacturing technologies are significantly improved through the introduction of powerful computer based, finite element analysis and CAD/CAM integration with in house CNC prototype hardware. Process technology improvements will assist Phase Ill commercialization. A commercially available eCAD will be critical for the development, validation and training of medical personnel on using state of the art MRA diagnostic protocols for coronary artery disease. ? ?
