PIXY®
Anthromorphic Training/Teaching Phantom
PIXY® is used to demonstrate anatomy and evaluate positioning and imaging techniques, including kVp, mAs, contrast, optical density, OFD and TFD. Radiographs of PIXY® are optically equivalent in density and contrast to human patients. PIXY® permits unlimited exposures and tolerates trainee errors.
Anatomy - PIXY® shoulders have ball and socket joints; elbows and knees flex 90° and 100°. Hips flex 130° with 30° hyperextension.
A "frog" position is made possible by lateral flexion at the hips. The right hand is molded with fingers positioned for an AP view, while the left hand is in an oblique-lateral position. The left foot is in full plantarflexion; the right foot is in neutral position.
Neck vertebrae C1, C2, C6 and C7 were converted to mechanical nylon joints because the educators in the field prefer full positioning capabilities for the head. The design permits the remaining neck vertebrae to be fixed in a normal position, while assuring a full range of head motion.
PIXY® contains abdominal and pelvic organs: stomach, gallbladder, urinary bladder, kidneys, rectum and sigmoid flexure. These are air-filled, but accept water or contrast media and can be easily flushed after use. Custom fractures and custom pathologies are optional.
Materials - Highly-detailed polymer skeletons which reproduce shape, mass density and attenuation co-efficients of the cortical bone and spongiosa, allow continuous production of phantoms, instead of sporadic production due to limited availability, variable size and uncertain chemical composition of human skeletons. Nevertheless, human skeletons are available for users who desire them. There is a surcharge to cover the high cost of scarce natural skeletons and for added labor needed to rework them to fit PIXY® molds.
The matching of skeletons and soft tissues permits external and bony landmarks to coincide. The position of bones within the soft tissues is anatomically correct.
The detail cast into skeletons is considered a triumph of sculptural moldmaker's craft. The skull, for example, has frontal and sphenoidal sinuses, ethmoidal and mastoid air cells and the auditory ossicle. Bone structures are radiographically visible.
Soft Tissues - PIXY® is available in opaque or transparent tissue equivalent materials. The transparent PIXY® has visible organs and skeleton except at the hips, knees, and elbows, which are opaque because, as on opaque PIXY®, latex coverings are needed to retain tissue-equivalent gels for soft-tissue continuity at these articulations. Two-ply coverings protect against gel leakage.
Standard PIXY® lungs are molded of tissue-equivalent foam with a mass density of inflated human lungs (0.30g/cc). They are connected to the oronasal cavity by the stem bronchi and trachea. The oro-nasal pharynx is filled with a nearly air-equivalent foam.
Optional animal lungs, which duplicate the intricate detail of the vascular trees, are available. These lungs are fixed in the inflated state and molded to conform to the pleural cavities of the phantom.
The pulmonary arteries are injected with the blood-equivalent plastic. In addition, low-, medium-, and high-contrast material may be selected by the user.