Mechanical testing and comparison of porcine tissue, silicones and 3D-printed materials for cardiovascular phantoms.

Cardiovascular phantoms for patient education, pre-operative planning, surgical training, haemodynamic simulation, and device testing may help improve patient care. However, currently used materials may have different mechanical properties compared to biological tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties of 3D-printing and silicone materials in comparison to biological cardiovascular tissues.