Fabrication of an Anatomically Realistic Intestinal Phantom with Villous Microstructure.

Rohit Dey, Jiaming Du, Theodore Mah, Jack Shanks, James Hacunda, Savo Topic, Safak Yalcin, Cheng Yang, Yihao Zheng

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Rohit DeyDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5786-0608

Jiaming DuDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609, USA.

Theodore MahDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609, USA.

Jack ShanksDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609, USA.

James HacundaTakeda Development Center Americas, Inc., 500 Kendall Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.

Savo TopicTakeda Development Center Americas, Inc., 500 Kendall Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.

Safak YalcinTakeda Development Center Americas, Inc., 500 Kendall Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.

Cheng YangTakeda Development Center Americas, Inc., 500 Kendall Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.

Yihao ZhengDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4110-4175

Funding

Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The accurate evaluation of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases such as celiac disease (CeD) relies on the assessment of villous architecture, yet progress in imaging-based diagnostics, particularly video capsule endoscopy (VCE), is constrained by the absence of anatomically realistic and reproducible physical models of the intestinal mucosa. Existing benchtop phantoms typically reproduce gross luminal curvature but fail to capture the sub-millimeter villous microstructure, the optical scattering behavior, and the luminal folding of native mucosa that together shape its endoscopic appearance. We developed a modular fabrication framework for an anatomically realistic small intestinal phantom with controlled villous microstructure. High-resolution drop-on-demand photopolymer material jetting was used to print discrete patches of villous-like micropillar arrays with tunable height, diameter, and spacing parameterized from histological data spanning Marsh 0 to 3c classifications. The printed patches were then dyed for mucosal-color realism, bonded onto a polyester-spandex substrate, rolled into a continuous tube, and shaped with adjustable retainer rings to introduce luminal folds. Optical microscopy confirmed dimensional fidelity within ±10% of design values with patch-to-patch variation below 7%, and VCE imaging of healthy and atrophic configurations achieved structural similarity (SSIM) values of 0.625 and 0.761 against clinical mucosal imagery. This reproducible platform supports VCE device validation, imaging dataset generation, and clinician training in gastrointestinal imaging.

Indexed as

additive manufacturingceliac diseaseintestinal phantomPolyJet 3D printingvideo capsule endoscopy (VCE)villous microstructure

Identifiers

PMID42649832

DOI10.3390/bioengineering13080943

PMCPMC13510157

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.