A composite kidney stone phantom with mechanical properties controllable over the range of human kidney stones.

A novel composite kidney stone phantom has been developed. This stone phantom is producible with mechanical properties mimicking the range of tensile fracture strength and acoustic properties of human kidney stones and is an inorganic/organic composite material, as are natural kidney stones. Diametral compression testing was used to measure tensile fracture strength, which determines the acoustic comminution behavior of kidney stones. Ultrasound transmission tests were made to characterize the acoustic properties of these stone phantoms. Both the tensile fracture strength (controllable from 1 to approximately 5 MPa) and acoustic properties (C(L) = 2700-4400 m/s and C(T)=1600-2300m/s) of these composite phantom stones match those of a wide variety of human kidney stones. These artificial stone phantoms should have wide utility in lithotripsy research.